Continuing the Discussion on Genetic Testing for Breast Cancer

A few months ago, Angelina Jolie revealed that she had made the difficult decision to remove her breasts to combat the risk of familial breast cancer. We haven’t heard much about it since – Angelina has moved on. That’s how it should be.  The wonderful thing about having access to genetic testing for breast cancer is that the risk of breast cancer is determined early when it can be addressed and life can go on. I get a lot of emails and calls from women asking if they should get tested for the BRCA 1 or 2 genetic mutations for breast cancer. They have family members that were diagnosed and many of them have lost a mother or sister. The question always comes back to – but what if I test positive. The fear is overwhelming for some. They see the risk as great as the disease. The other thing is that they will have to do something and to many it means losing their breasts. What they can’t see is how any measures they take now can greatly reduce the pain and impact of the disease if it actually develops. If people could see past the fear of testing, the real benefits are enormous. Being able to know that you are at risk and dealing with the threat is by far much better than dealing with treatment after diagnosis. Had I had the benefit of knowing my family carried the BRCA gene mutation, I could have reviewed all the options to reduce my risk of being diagnosed with the disease. Fortunately because of my being tested, Sister and her daughters have these options. It is cer...
Source: Life with Breast Cancer - Category: Cancer Authors: Tags: Breast Cancer Source Type: blogs