Tuesday, July 5th - Genetic Counseling

Well, out of all the news I have had delivered to me in the past few months, today's news is probably the BEST I have heard!  My mom went with me this morning to the hospital to meet with a genetic counselor, named Margo and lucky for me, she had some positive things to say.  About a month ago I sent Margo a fairly detailed family tree with all the medical information I could find about our relatives.  This meant chronicalling all the medical issues associated with both my father's side of the family, as well as my mom's (obviously cancer included, but listing other health issues as well).  Margo took that information and made a cool chart which illustrated all the information I had sent.  In addition, she utilized two computer models which take the information and give a projected likelihood that I carry the genetic marker (BRCA 1 and BRCA 2) for breast cancer.

My cancer surgeon had ordered the genetic counseling test for two very good reasons: 1) I was diagnosed with BC before the age of 45 and; 2) I had an aunt on my father's side who was diagnosed early (age 42) and eventually died of ovarian cancer.  (The genetic marker for breast cancer and the genetic marker for ovarian cancer are very closely linked.)  The surgeon said it would be important to know if we are looking at a possible genetic problem in the family, or if my cancer developed because of some other (unknown) reason.

HERE'S THE GOOD NEWS...based on Margo's two computer models...I ONLY HAVE A 6% or an 11% PERCENT CHANCE OF CARRYING THE GENETIC MARKER!!!!!  This is terrific and just the news I was hoping to hear.  What exactly does it mean?  Essentially, it looks like my developing cancer was just an environmental fluke and most likely has nothing to do with my genetic makeup.  This is great news for my mom, my sister, my kids, and most of all, me.  We DON'T want this crap in my family....no way!

Again, this was all preliminary data and we won't have the true test results until August 1st.  I gave a blood sample today and it will be sent away to a special lab where they will analze my DNA and report back the findings in a detailed report.  I might be jumping ahead of myself since the results are not yet confirmed, but I felt very hopeful based on what I heard today from Margo and am going to move forward believing what she said to be true.

If I DO carry the gene, the game changes a bit.  Most likely my doctor would suggest my having a hysterectomy since the two cancers (BC and ovarian) are so closely linked.  Ovarian cancer is a quiet killer and in many cases, unfortunately you don't know you have it until it's too late.  Thus, the idea would be to remove the ovaries before the cancer would have a chance to develop.  Not a bad deal, given that I'm done utilizing my ovaries (no more kids needed here!!!) and the surgery is laproscopic and not invasive.  After everything I have been through thus far, that sounds like cake!

The larger problem, if I find that I indeed carry the gene, is for the sake of keeping my family safe.  It would mean that each of my kids (even Conrad) would have a 50% chance of developing BC throughout the course of their lifetime.  I don't like even pondering that, but it will be something we will have to face if the test results come back positive.

That being said, I am keeping a POSITIVE attitude :) and hoping for the best.  And based on what Margo said today, it sounds like most likely I DO NOT CARRY THE GENE.  That's my story and I'm sticking to it....