Have you been tested for the cancer gene?

[Grog]

I am sorry to hear about your friend, itself.

A few years ago, there was quite a bit of discussion on prophylactic mastectomy, i.e. prevention measures against breast cancer. At that time, what I gathered (but I wasn't paying extreme attention) was that the benefits of such preemptive measures were not all that obvious, and that it was still possible to get breast cancer despite having had one's breasts removed.

Now, the treatment might have evolved in the meantime, I don't know.

In any case, I would never get genetic testing myself, for any disease that I can think of.

But, seeing it from a distance, I also see the gene testing like an industry, a fear-driven industry, so I am naturally suspicious...

[shootingstar]

Whenever I am asked about my family medical history...I have to say, I tend to answer in a vague way with..only reference to my parents. Not much further back. I only know how 2 aunts died out of ..um 10 aunts and uncles paternal and maternal. I have no clue how my 3 grandparents each died. 1 of them died just after a dental surgical procedure. Latter all died in China.

While I don't discount genetics as a factor for certain health predispositions in a family line, I think for me to indicate what my grandparents, aunts, uncles were like medically isn't totally helpful to determine my health disposition, for these reasons:

1) My lifestyle, or my generation's is very different from previous generations. On top of that my diet is quite different (but not as radically different compared to someone eating alot of dairy-based, fatty and meat based diet) from relatives in mainland China over the past 50 years. Diet particularily different between a developing country and a developed country over a span of 50 years.

2) Medical system between China and North America is different..so that could affect treatment/lack of treatment.

As well as access to preventive care information is a factor across generations depending on geography, linguistic comprehension and literacy.

however latter, even if one is more literate and have access to a ton of preventive health care information, it doesn't guarantee better health/self-care. For certain North America, is just screaming example of many people knowing the right info., but not acting much on it.

'Course there are good stories too...like folks here who try take preventive health care measures/lifestyles.

[Aggie_Ama]

I am not sure I would have it. I just don't know if I would chose surgery on a chance, I have never had surgery for any reason. My attitude might be different if I had a history of family breast cancer.

My Dad had colon cancer at 53 and mom pre-cancerous polyps so I will be lining up for my colonoscopy at 40 instead of 50. And knowing that my fair skin puts me at risk for skin cancer I need to get a dermatologist.

[Trek420]

My Dad had colon cancer at 53 and mom pre-cancerous polyps so I will be lining up for my colonoscopy at 40 instead of 50.

Ah, there's also a way to collect a sample and mail it in rather than do the colonoscopy. That's been sitting in an envelope waiting for me to do that. This may be TMI but you can mail in a sample to a lab rather than the colonoscopy. I don't know which is more effective but for sure something is better than nothing. This thread is a good reminder.

As for preventative care, lifestyle and diet changes I'd have to say my Dad is an example of "eat well, diet and exercise .... die anyway"

With a lifetime of hard work, my parents grew their own organic food even long after they stopped farming their land for a living. What they did not grow was mostly local and organic. We even had our own well water.

At nearly 88 my Mom still gardens avidly and walks to the farm market.

They are my inspiration that a healthy active lifestyle is not about living forever but enjoying life while you are above ground. I feel that it's quality of life vs quantity. Nobody lives forever but while I am alive I'd like to be able to be fit enough to open the peanut butter jar, do the things I like to do etc.

[badger]

my friend, who just turned 60, does have the gene. She had a hysterectomy about 5 years ago, and I believe she goes for a mammogram quite frequently.

As for preventative measures, I unfortunately have a pretty pessimistic attitude.

I truly doubt that many of my generation will be seeing the century mark. Despite our best efforts to live a healthy lifestyle, we can't help that we're surrounded in chemical pollution. It's in our water, our soil, and the air we breathe. Plastics are doing so much damage, I don't think we've seen the full impact of it on ourselves and the environment. Did you know that the receipts we get from stores are loaded with unhealthy amounts of BPA? And just because we buy "organic", doesn't mean that they haven't been sprayed or treated.

The waters are loaded with the synthetic hormones that we pee out from birth control pills - that's affecting the fish. Male fish are turning female, some are born with eggs!? I'll stop myself before I go really off on a tangent.

Sorry for the doom and gloom, I'm PMSing

[KnottedYet]

While the life expectancy in the US is lower than in the rest of the developed nations, I don't think that's due to pollution. More like general lifestyle and access to healthcare.

It's always shocking to me to go to Europe (or New Zealand, or even Canada) and see how much healthier and leaner people look. And it's horrifying to visit the mid-west and see how corpulent people are. Watch some of the original Sesame Street episodes or other US TV shows from 40 years ago, and see how skinny everyone looked.

Pollution is a problem, but I think lifestyle and healthcare access are larger ones right now.

[lisathew8lifter]

i think your friend is wise to have the test. my best friend's mom died of breast cancer and all of her aunts on her mom's side have cancer except one. she had the test and tested negative for it thankfully. she was fully prepared to have a double mastectomy though. i never thought of the insurance company fiasco that could happen as a result of being tested. ugh. i hate insurance companies just as much as i hate cancer!

[Possegal]

Ah, there's also a way to collect a sample and mail it in rather than do the colonoscopy. That's been sitting in an envelope waiting for me to do that. This may be TMI but you can mail in a sample to a lab rather than the colonoscopy. I don't know which is more effective but for sure something is better than nothing.

Just to clarify, the colonoscopy is most definitely more effective. They can biopsy anything suspicious while they are in there. It's one reason it is the far better method than the fecal occult blood test - which will only detect blood in your stool. If you are looking to find something early, in a pre-cancerous state, waiting for blood in your sample is not the most effective way as most polyps don't bleed. Being able to sample anything suspicious is also what makes a regular colonoscopy better than the "virtual" colonoscopy, where you swallow the camera. There are researchers developing a sample style of detection that would look for DNA of colon cancer, but that isn't available yet. Until then, colonoscopy is most definitely the most effective way to screen for, and catch colon cancer early and when it is very curable.

Though agreed, something is better than nothing.

[rocknrollgirl]

I am currently waiting for the phone call with my results. I had the blood test 8 days ago.

Mom died of ovarian, her sister has breast, cousin on that side with breast before the age of 30.

If the test is positive, I will have my ovaries removed. I had a partial hysto 6 years ago.

After watching what my Mom went through, the decision for me is easy.

[KnottedYet]

I'm reading more about BRCA1 and BRCA2 this morning than I've read in ages.

Seems like having one of the cancers influenced by these two genes before age 30 is a big warning sign.

My cancer (one influenced by BRCA2) was in my mid 20's. Been getting my mammos since my mid 30's, so that's pretty well covered. Scandinavians have higher rates of BRCA2 mutation (oopsy). I'm not Ashkenazi Jew and there's no history of ovarian cancer in my family, so I'm not likely to have BRCA1 mutations.

Really, a lot of the personal statistics can be worked out before taking the test, and the test would be a piece of data to add to your personal statistics.

Only something like 10% of breast cancers are linked to BRCA mutations, that means 90% of breast cancers are wild cards. (feel your boobies! http://ww5.komen.org/content.aspx?id=5310 )

However, something like 60% of women with known BRCA mutations develop breast cancer. And if a woman with a BRCA mutation has already had that mutation express itself with a cancer, that percentage goes up.