Bright Pink invests in cancer prevention innovation 

A partnership between the University of Michigan and Stanford University is reshaping cancer prevention.

With a transformative gift from Bright Pink, a national nonprofit organization that helped to shape the breast and ovarian health landscape for nearly two decades, the two university partners are developing a novel approach to cancer prevention. Bright Pink was founded by U-M College of Literature, Science, and the Arts alumnus Lindsay Avner Kaplan (A.B. 2005). Together, the partners aim to empower families to understand and communicate about inherited cancer risk and help save lives through expanding access to critical prevention resources. 

The Bright Pink Preventive Risk Outreach And Cascade Testing (PROACT) Program at Michigan Medicine is a digital platform that helps families with inherited cancers share vital information and access affordable at-home genetic testing. 

The goal of PROACT is to save lives by enabling people to learn about their cancer risk status and take informed action, such as lifestyle changes, adopting earlier or more frequent screenings, or pursuing risk-reducing surgery, to protect themselves from cancer.

Closing gaps in awareness and action 

Today, when a person tests positive for an inherited cancer risk, they may receive a letter from their doctor recommending that they let their relatives know that they could also be at risk. The stakes are high, particularly in families with inherited cancer syndromes, because a person’s awareness of their cancer risk can make the difference between preventing or finding cancer early or being diagnosed with advanced and aggressive cancer. 

“Under HIPAA privacy law, health care providers cannot contact a patient’s family members,” says Steven Katz, M.D., MPH, professor of internal medicine and professor of health management and policy at U-M. “It has to be done by the patient. So the patient is under this pressure at the same time they are being treated for cancer and are also finding out about their own genetic disposition. It can be very overwhelming, and there is a lot of burden on them.” 

As co-director of U-M’s Center for Health Communications Research, Lawrence An, M.D., associate professor of internal medicine at U-M, understands the challenges families face.  

“Families are complicated, and communication can be complicated, so family communication can be especially challenging,” he says. “Unfortunately, often only a small fraction of a patient’s family members are aware of their own risk status, meaning there are many missed opportunities to save lives when genetic information could help protect entire extended families.” 

Barriers like geographic distance, fragmented health care systems, limited health literacy, and even feelings like guilt and shame can prevent families from communicating effectively about inherited cancer risks. This means that family members can miss opportunities to prevent cancer or detect it in its early and most treatable stages. 

Even when family members recognize they may be at an increased risk, accessing genetic testing can be challenging.  

“A person might need to start with their primary care doctor, get referred to a genetic counselor, see the genetic counselor, make a decision about whether or not to get tested, and then get the testing,” says An. “It’s a long path with many hurdles for family members.” 

“We want to reduce the burden of cancer in these families, and we will achieve that goal,” says Katz. “This gift from Bright Pink accelerates our capabilities of doing that. This will be a five- to ten-year vision of changing practice, so we are in it for the long haul. But we are going to save lives, and we are so excited about this.” 

Continuing a legacy in cancer prevention 

Avner Kaplan founded Bright Pink after she became the youngest woman in the United States to have a risk-reducing double mastectomy in 2006 — a choice she made because of her family’s genetic risk — and found there were few resources available for young women who had not been diagnosed with cancer but wanted to take proactive steps to prevent it. 

Bright Pink began in 2007 with a bold mission to help young women understand and manage their breast and ovarian cancer risk before cancer could take hold. What started as a grassroots movement quickly evolved into a national force. 

“Awareness alone isn’t enough. From day one, we believed no one should have to wait for a diagnosis to take action,” said Avner Kaplan. “Bright Pink has always been about empowering women with the tools, knowledge, and confidence to be proactive with their health — so they can live with strength, protect the ones they love, and embrace long, vibrant lives.” 

Bright Pink delivered in a big way. Between 2007 and 2021, the organization trained over 20,000 women’s health providers and empowered nearly 1.8 million women to reduce their breast and ovarian cancer risks. 

In 2021, Bright Pink made a decision to shift its nonprofit model. Dana-Farber Cancer Institute acquired its core educational tools and programs, allowing Bright Pink to evolve into a venture philanthropy fund. Between 2021 and 2023, it invested more than $1 million in equity-driven initiatives with trusted partner organizations. In 2024, Bright Pink launched a search to identify a cutting-edge, mission-aligned intervention led by a world-class team to create a lasting legacy by delivering its largest and final investment.

Introducing PROACT 

With more than a decade of close partnership in cancer genetics and health communications research, the Stanford and U-M team stood out and were awarded all of Bright Pink’s legacy funds. 

Bright Pink made a $3.5 million legacy gift in October 2024 to establish the Bright Pink PROACT Program at Stanford Medicine under the leadership of Stanford faculty Allison Kurian, M.D., M.Sc., professor of medicine and epidemiology and population health, and Jennifer Caswell-Jin, M.D., assistant professor of medicine, and in collaboration with the University of Michigan team led by An and Katz. 

The PROACT digital platform, developed by An, serves as the central tool that helps family members share genetic risk information with relatives in a clear, structured way, allowing that information to reach extended family networks over time. Its function and design are grounded in the real-world needs of cancer patients and their families. 

“When Bright Pink launched PROACT in 2024,” says Avner Kaplan, “we knew we were investing in something transformative.” 

In May 2025, Bright Pink made an additional $1 million investment to establish the Bright Pink PROACT Program at Michigan Medicine under the leadership of An and Katz. This gift will help the Stanford-Michigan PROACT team enhance the PROACT platform and expand its reach, reducing the burden of inherited cancer for more patients, families, and communities. 

“Our final $1 million investment to the University of Michigan will accelerate PROACT’s next phase and strengthen efforts at both Michigan and Stanford as the program grows in reach, depth, and long-term sustainability,” says Avner Kaplan. 

Saving lives with education, communication, and access to genetic testing 

As they designed and built PROACT, An and his team worked closely with patients and family members to ensure that the platform is useful, accessible, and grounded in people’s real experiences.  

The Stanford-Michigan PROACT team is launching a clinical trial during summer 2025 to assess PROACT’s impact on families. 

Anu Sharma, M.S., project manager for the clinical trial, emphasizes PROACT’s great potential to facilitate information sharing in families. 

“When the patient meets with their genetic counselor,” says Sharma, “they learn what their test results mean for their own care and also the implications for their family. Using PROACT, genetic counselors can identify which specific family members (e.g., children, brothers, sisters, aunts, uncles) should learn about the patient’s test results and consider genetic testing for themselves. PROACT then helps the patient in reaching out to these specific family members through a structured cascade approach. Family members can use PROACT to learn about the test results, family cancer risk, and get access to low-cost at-home genetic testing. PROACT really offers a full-service package for the whole family.” 

PROACT is designed to help patients understand family cancer risk, the meaning of their own genetic test results for family members, and provide an easy way to share this information. 

“We want patients to know that PROACT is here to help,” says An, “and that reaching out to family members is not something they need to do completely on their own.” 

Instead of receiving just a letter, the families using PROACT receive educational information that is tailored to their family’s cancer risk and genetic testing results, and are offered access to low-cost at-home genetic testing. 

“We know that many patients want their relatives to understand the cancer risk in their family and have the option to get genetic testing to learn about their personal cancer risk and how they can protect themselves from cancer,” says An. “PROACT is designed to do just that.” 

Accelerating impact 

Bright Pink’s generous contribution empowers the Stanford-Michigan PROACT team to design a powerful tool, pilot it in select clinics, and expand its reach across diverse healthcare settings simultaneously, accelerating benefits for patients and families while expanding the platform’s impact more swiftly. The Michigan team includes the U-M Innovation Partnerships program, which translates discoveries into real-world solutions.  

“Our team is working hand in hand with An and Katz to amplify the impact of PROACT through strategic connections with industry and entrepreneurs and investors like Lindsay,” says Drew Bennett, director of research partnerships at U-M Innovation Partnerships.  

“The Michigan team will implement PROACT in a broad range of clinical settings and beyond,” adds An. 

“With this final investment,” says Avner Kaplan, “we are sunsetting Bright Pink, the organization — but our mission is only growing stronger through PROACT. It continues our boldest ideas, values, and belief in helping people protect their health and the health of those they love.” 

If you are interested in learning more about supporting the cancer prevention work of PROACT, please visit U-M PROACT’s giving page. 

About the Look to Michigan campaign

This gift is part of the Look to Michigan fundraising campaign, which aims to create transformative answers to health care’s biggest challenges for the benefit of people in our state and beyond. Building on 175 years of leadership in medicine and as part of the University of Michigan’s Vision 2034 strategic framework for impact, we are breaking new ground in patient care, research, medical and graduate education, health equity, and health care facilities. Together, we can improve and save lives. For more information, visit michiganmedicine.org/giving/look-to-michigan.