It ends with her

When Amanda Swenson met Fred Hutch Cancer Center researcher Richard Adeyemi, DVM, PhD, in spring 2025, she got goosebumps. Multiple times. 

Adeyemi is an assistant professor in Fred Hutch’s Basic Sciences Division, and Swenson clocked his genius immediately as they talked in his lab. Then there was his quiet confidence, which revealed itself a little more slowly. More than anything else, though, she was struck by Adeyemi’s exciting ideas for fixing the very genetic trait that had upended her life — and decided right then and there that she wanted to support him and his work. 

Adeyemi studies the BRCA2 gene. When it works as intended, BRCA2 plays a crucial role in correcting damage to our DNA. When it doesn’t, the individual’s risk of several cancers jumps significantly. Swenson inherited a BRCA2 mutation and was diagnosed with breast cancer in her late 30s.

Like others in the Basic Sciences Division, Adeyemi is working to answer fundamental questions about our cells and how they work so we can better understand what causes diseases like cancer. He and his colleagues have discovered that while a BRCA2 mutation can drive cancer, it also creates vulnerabilities in tumor cells. In his lab, as he explained his ideas for exploiting those weaknesses, Swenson thought, “Yes, this is exactly what we need to do. And Dr. Adeyemi is the guy for the job.”

Swenson learned about her BRCA2 status in her late 20s when her mom was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, and they both underwent genetic testing. Equipped with that invaluable knowledge, Swenson started getting mammograms right away, more than a decade before national guidelines recommend them for individuals at average risk. 

She knew the odds: Her risk of breast cancer was nearly five times higher than that of someone without an inherited BRCA mutation. So it wasn’t exactly shocking when, at 37, one of Swenson’s semi-annual screenings at Fred Hutch detected a mass. But that didn’t make it any less traumatic — for Swenson or for her family. She was especially worried about her young daughter; what if she had inherited the mutation from Swenson, just as Swenson had from her mother? 

Swenson’s cancer was detected early, and her treatment was successful. When she felt she was physically and emotionally past the experience, she was motivated to do something to change the future for her daughter. 

“My mom died two years before I got my own cancer diagnosis,” Swenson said. “I truly wish I could have thanked her for the gift of early detection that she gave me. So instead, I’m going to pay it forward.”

‘A real opportunity to make an impact’

There was only one place Swenson even considered directing her newfound philanthropic intent. The staff and physicians at Fred Hutch’s Women’s Wellness Program had taken excellent care of her for years before her diagnosis, making sure she received the right screenings at the right time and connecting her with genetic counselors and registered dietitians. Then, when she needed treatment, they seamlessly transitioned her to the oncology team. So, not knowing exactly what to do next, she cold-called the Philanthropy Department, and a team member invited her to Fred Hutch’s South Lake Union campus for a lab tour. 

Her desire to support Fred Hutch research was about more than simply giving back. She was determined to effect real, measurable change. 

“I want my daughter’s experience to be drastically different than mine, and that can only come through big swings,” Swenson said. “And it felt like at Fred Hutch, there was this real opportunity to make an impact.”

Meeting with Adeyemi in 2025 further drove that point home — particularly because of the  compassion and sensitivity that he brings to his research. At various points in her life, Swenson has viewed her BRCA2 mutation as a deficiency and felt guilty about the possibility of passing it on to her daughter, “even though I had no choice in the matter and it’s just how I am,” she said. “But the way [Adeyemi] approaches [these genetic mutations] just feels so respectful to me as a human.”

‘This is the future I want for my daughter’

Swenson was so inspired by what she learned in Adeyemi’s lab, she made her first gift to fund his research two weeks later, via her Donor-Advised Fund (DAF). Then, one year later, she made another. But she still wanted to do more to support him, as well as others like herself: younger, philanthropically minded and uniquely motivated to act. Which makes her an ideal addition to Innovators Network, Fred Hutch’s community of next-generation donors committed to ending cancer in their lifetime.