Breast Cancer, Mammograms, etc.

[Warning - long post! - sorry but this is important for me to share important for me]
Those of you who know me are probably aware that nine years ago my mother was diagnosed with breast cancer. She was 48. Around twenty years ago, my dad's sister was diagnosed with breast cancer at the age of 39. In between the two of them, both of my grandmothers and my grandmother's sister were also diagnosed with the disease. Thankful, none of them have died from this cancer. Needless to say, this disease is something I am very familiar with and need to become even more familiar with.

A little background about Breast Cancer...
It is one of the most common forms of cancer in woman in the US. One in 7 or 8 women will develop it sometime in their life. Like many other diseases, it is affected by both controllable and non-controllable risk factors. Non-controllable risk factors would include things like aging, race, or heredity. Controllable risk factors would be things such as diet, exercise, alcohol, etc. Many things are still questionable like soy, birth control pills - some studies show these are beneficial and some show they are harmful.

I am considered high risk for this disease (because of heredity) and was referred to a cancer center nearby that has a Breast Cancer Prevention Clinic once each month. My understanding was that I was going to meet with an oncologist who would give me an examination and possibly develop some time of a protective plan from here on out. When I got there, I first met with an oncologist and a nurse practitioner. I was joking around somewhat...feeling awfully silly for seeing a doctor about something I didn't have. When they didn't laugh at my jokes, I tried to take things a little bit more seriously. I found out that one Monday each month, these doctor's commit their time only to high risk women. The other days of the month are spent treating women who already have the disease. So all of the other women there where in a situation similar to mine. After my initial exam and health history with them, I was sent to meet with a genetic counselor for about 40 minutes. It was SO interesting and informative. From there I was taken to have a baseline mammogram (didn't see that one coming) and then another conference with the oncologist and nurse practitioner.

I WAS SO IMPRESSED.
Little old me - with no problems at this point...but they cared and wanted to help.

I have considered seeing a genetic counselor in the past but wasn't really sure it would be beneficial. I mean - it seemed to me that the only prevention was a preventative double mastectomy. I also wondered if playing around with genes was God's business and not mine? I was shocked by all of the information she gave me. There are two genes that have been associated with breast cancer and with ovarian cancer - BRCA1 and BRCA2. When one or both of them has a type of gene mutation, there is a significant rise in breast cancer cases. Nearly 35-85 percent of woman who have a gene mutation in one of these genes will get breast cancer in their lifetime. Between 16-60 percent of them will get ovarian cancer. I knew this was high regarding the breast - but I did not know about the connection with ovarian cancer. Ovarian cancer is much more difficult to find and diagnose and therefore - can be quite deadly. In cases such as mine, there is enough of a possibly that I have the gene that they recommended genetic counseling - for my aunt, my mom, and if necessary - myself. It costs almost $3200. {If you are over 65 it is free through Medicare.}

For woman who have one of these mutated genes, they like you to have your fallopian tubes and ovaries out before you are 40. Yikes! Who wants to get put through menopause that early? Well- they give you 25% of your hormones through HRT (hormone replacement therapy) which still leaves you with 75% less than what you were getting. IT doesn't put you through menopause and reduces your risk of getting ovarian cancer in particular by 65%! I guess that is better than the complete hysterectomy and double mastectomy a friends of mine just had! This is just a tiny little bit of what she told me - but it was enough to really make me think. There was lots of info about male breast cancer too - if anyone wants to know. They are really so proactive. It is amazing.

A concern many woman in my situation have is the problem of genetic discrimination. In the past - and still in some states, insurance companies could and would drop clients if they were found to have this gene. It IS a preexisting condition, after all! So, doctor's would advise their clients to pay everything out of pocket and not write any information about the gene in their charts. Thankfully, most of that has changed or is changing. The Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act is currently running through the house and Bush is expected to sign it. At this point, life insurance and disability companies can still drop clients though. [My friend Elizabeth is so good at keeping up with political issues - I am interested but I realized how much more interesting it becomes when it directly affects me!] As far as the genetic testing, there are lots of factors to consider before doing it, and I haven't prayed about it enough to know what is right for our family.

As far as the mammogram - you do wear these robes and the technician squeezes and molds and squishes your chest. They actually stuck bee bees on the end of them - (that is a nice visual huh?) But - compared to childbirth, or any other injury, it didn't really hurt. Maybe just a little uncomfortable for a brief time. The lady said - "wow look at all that muscle!" So - I could take that as, wow, you are strong....or wow, you don't have much fat in the only place in your body where you are supposed to:).

My mom hasn't had any recurrences. Praise the Lord! She was recently diagnosed with a mild case of lymphedema - but that is a side effect of having a double mastectomy and radiation and chemo.

Anyway, if you know of anyone who would benefit from this info, feel free to pass it on. Thanks for listening and letting me tell this story.