Novel Concepts

Male breast cancer is rare, but it can run in families, and it does in Spencer Godfrey’s.

Godfrey was diagnosed with stage two breast cancer and treated at Winship; his father and uncle also had the disease. “I convinced my two sons to have genetic testing even though they are still in their thirties,” says Godfrey. “All three of us carry a gene linked to male breast cancer.”

Godfrey contributed $300,000 to the breast cancer research of Winship scientist Adam Marcus to support a study of a natural compound extracted from Indian ginseng root that targets a protein that may stop breast cancer from spreading.

“My own experience with breast cancer, and my family’s increased risk, inspired me to establish a fund to support research at Winship, particularly the work of Adam Marcus,” he says.

Previously, Godfrey provided pilot money for Marcus’s ginseng research when it was too novel to attract federal funding.