Genes

 

When i think of my genes my mind automatically used to go to:

 

• My blonde hair.
• My blue eyes.
• My big smile and used to be crooked teeth.
• My feet that stopped growing when i was 12.
• My height that stopped when I was 12 too.
• My itty bitty teeny tiny fingers/hands that crack everyone up when they actually look at them.
• My voice.
• My little bit crooked nose.
• My ears--not quite as big as my dads...
• My feet and their weirdness (thanks grannie).





Well, just over 7 years ago my mom got breast cancer. That is not news to anyone who has read this blog. But what we realized was that all of us kids were possible cancer candidates now. And then when we looked back through my mom's immediate family we realized that there must be a cancer gene in there somewhere because:

• My grandpa had prostate cancer that eventually took him.
• My aunt had cancer when little and then it came back to her pancreas as an adult and took her.
• My uncle developed colon cancer which then spread to his whole body and took him.
• My mom had breast cancer, but thankfully is still here with us.

There is a test that is fairly recently available for those to find out about "the breast cancer/ovarian cancer genes". You have to be in very specific circumstances for your insurance to help cover it, and if they dont its wicked expensive. Well, a few years ago, my mom was able to take her genetic testing since she had breast cancer already and it was super aggressive. It turns out that she WAS NOT positive for the breast cancer gene, but WAS positive for the ovarian cancer gene. Since she had such aggressive cancer already, they decided to do a hysterectomy right away to take away that possibility of more cancer for her.

 

 

Since finding out she WAS positive for that gene...that got all of us "worried" and thinking again about how we all were now at a 50/50 shot of having that particular gene. My brothers and I qualify for our insurance to help cover the cost of the testing since it was our mother who had the gene AND she had already had cancer.

 

This year, I have met my part of our deductible for our insurance doing fertility treatments...so we knew that this would be the time to get the testing done for me.

 

I got my results back yesterday and I am positive for the same mutation that my mom has.

 

We arent sure yet what this means for my forseeable future, but we do know my future holds a hysterectomy in it.

 

Still trying to process the information and not let it freak me out.

My monday kicked my booty yesterday and that news was the cherry on top.