Brca2... Knowledge is power.

I'm about to embark on a crazy life changing journey of sorts, and in an attempt to keep all things "positive" and proactive, I'm going to chronicle the ups and downs.   So here it is.  The good the bad and the slightly too personal for a public blog.

I grew up knowing there was a lot of breast cancer in my family.  My grandmother's mom died of the disease when she was just a little girl.  After her mother and several aunts had breast cancer, my grandmother also was diagnosed.  Thankfully, she survived the disease, but my mom was always vigilant about her own breast health and reinforced to my sister and I the importance of screenings.

Several years ago, my mother's oldest, little sister, Adele, was diagnosed with ovarian cancer.  For many years, she struggled through countless treatments and surgeries.  She succumbed to the disease this past summer.  When Adele was sick, Isabelle, the younger of my mother's sisters took a genetic test to screen for the so called "breast cancer" gene.  She tested positive for a dangerous mutation in a tumor suppressor gene. (Brca2- pronounced brack-a two) The variant found in her gene gave her an 87% risk of breast cancer and raised her risk of ovarian cancer to almost 50%. (Way over what the general population faces). Isabelle decided that she would have a hysterectomy when she retired, based on the result of her test.  Unfortunately, before that could happen, she was diagnosed with ovarian cancer.  She is now the second sister in the family to suffer from this horrible disease.  My mother, had a hysterectomy several years ago for  unrelated health reasons.  She will be the only one of of the 3 sisters not to struggle with this very deadly cancer.

Given the high rate of breast and now ovarian cancers in our family blood line, and the knowledge that the dangerous mutation is present in our family, my sister and I decided to each be tested for the gene.  We both tested Brca2 positive.  We both are at a highly elevated risk of developing breast and ovarian cancers.  Knowledge is power.