Australian Story

A Family Legacy (28x20)

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Erica Packer reveals a mystery plaguing her family – will she be the next woman to be diagnosed with breast cancer? Doctors say Erica is right to be worried. A family tree highlights the majority of women on her mother’s side have died from the disease, but no-one knows the cause. Her sister, Jo Hunter, was diagnosed at the age of 39, the same year their mother died after 12 years of treatment for breast cancer. She also lost her aunt and grandmother and many cousins in the older generations. The ex-model is the former wife of James Packer, one of Australia’s richest men and they share three children. Erica and her sister are supporters of the National Breast Cancer Foundation, which funds scientific research at the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre in Melbourne. There, scientists and doctors are looking at pinpointing the hereditary genes responsible for breast cancer plaguing thousands of Australian families.