Posted by Melissa After my mother lost her aunt and two of her brothers, she went to a doctor and was tested to see if she carried these two genes (BRCA1 and BRCA2) that can cause Breast and Ovarian Cancer. Unfortunately, she carries both of them. The doctor told her that she had about a 98% chance of getting cancer within the next ten years. So over the next year, she had a historectemy to prevent ovarian cancer, and a bilateral maestectemy to prevent Breast Cancer. Even after going through all of this, she still has about a 5% chance of getting cancer, but it is so much less than it was before. The point of me writing this is that, if Breast or Ovarian cancer runs in your family, or even if you just want to be safe, find out where you can be tested for these genes. Just think that if you find out now, you may be able to save your life. To learn more about the BRCA1 and the BRCA2 genes, go to: http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/factsheet/Risk/BRCA/
on 6/9/2007, 10:23 pm
24.225.79.90
I am only 15 years old and I have already lost many people in my family to cancer. I haven't lost a parent, and I am hoping that I never will, but I do know what it is like to lose someone that you love very much. Many years ago, my grandmother on my dad's side was diagnosed with breast cancer; luckily she survived, but that was not the end for me. About 8 years ago, my uncle on my moms side died of Prostate Cancer. Then a year and a half ago, another uncle on my moms side died from Prostate Cancer. These two were the two youngest men to ever die of Prostate Cancer. They were both devastating loses. But again, that was not the end. Two days after my second uncle died. My great aunt Karen died of Breast Cancer. She was one of the most remarkable women in the world. She had cancer a total of five times throughout her life; she beat it the first four times, but the fifth she was not so lucky. Although she was the last person I lost, it was still not the end of cancer in my family.
Message Thread:
« Back to thread