Sue Friedman DVM

Sue Friedman, DVM, was a practicing small-animal veterinarian when she diagnosed with breast cancer at age 33, and afterwards learned she carried a BRCA2 mutation. After her diagnosis, she recognized gaps in information and resources for people making medical decisions around hereditary cancers. She was determined that no one else should face hereditary cancer alone. After finishing treatment, she founded Facing Our Risk of Cancer Empowered (FORCE) in 1999 to fill the information and resource void for people facing adult hereditary cancer and help them advocate for themselves. In 2004 she left her veterinary practice to focus on FORCE full time. In 2006 she lost her father to metastatic hereditary prostate cancer.

As founder and Executive Director of the nonprofit FORCE organization, Sue has twenty-three years of experience assessing and addressing the unique needs of individuals and families affected by inherited mutations associated with hereditary cancers. FORCE education, research, and advocacy efforts were developed and implemented under her direction. FORCE serves a diverse population across the hereditary cancer care continuum, including the newly diagnosed, long-term cancer survivors, previvors, caregivers, and relatives.