NBA is giving away Jill Martin Sherpas for Breast Cancer Awareness Month TODAY

In honor of Breast Cancer Awareness Month, TODAY Plaza will be dressed all pink on October 1, thanks to a special event organized by Shop TODAY employee and breast cancer survivor Jill Martin.

Jill's new clothing brand, By Jill Martin, partnered with the NBA and is launching an exciting collaboration with the NBA and WNBA to raise awareness about breast cancer and genetic testing, particularly cancers related to the BRCA gene mutation.

The collaboration includes Jill's Sherpas with pink NBA and WNBA logos, available October 1st. Proceeds go to the Basser Center for BRCA.

NBA and WNBA The World's Best Lounger by Jill Martin Breast Cancer Awareness Lounger and Hoodie Collection

Shop at Fanatics

To kick off the campaign and kick off Breast Cancer Awareness Month on October 1, the NBA and WNBA provided the Sherpas with pink logos for TODAY Show attendees.

Also on October 1, the TODAY show will air its Pink Power special – where Jill shares more about her breast cancer journey, NBA and WNBA players talk about how the disease affected them, and more information about who should undergo genetic testing to reduce cancer risk. The square is also full of breast cancer survivors and their families.

The message of knowing your breast cancer risk is especially important for Jill, who was diagnosed with Stage 2 in 2023.

Jill learned she had breast cancer because she tested positive for a BRCA gene mutation – even though she had received a clear mammogram on the same day of her diagnosis and a clear sonogram just a few months earlier. It turned out that she had inherited the gene mutation from her father, which she didn't know was possible since breast cancer had mostly run in her family on her mother's side.

Since then, Martin has undergone a double mastectomy and breast reconstruction, removal of her ovaries and fallopian tubes, chemotherapy and radiation. She is now considered cancer-free and is taking two medications to reduce the risk of recurrence.

According to the National Cancer Institute, BRCA gene mutations are inherited from either the mother or the father. They can increase a person's risk of several types of cancer, such as breast, ovarian and prostate cancer. BRCA mutations also increase the risk of developing cancer at a younger age. More than 60% of women with a BRCA mutation develop breast cancer.

Some groups are at higher risk for BRCA mutations, including people with a family history of the mutation, people of Ashkenazi Jewish descent, and people with a personal or family history of breast cancer before age 50.

If you are concerned about the risk of a BRCA mutation, talk to a healthcare provider.