Have you been tested for the cancer gene?

[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!