As you may have seen in the news in the last 2 days, Angelina Jolie has come out publicly to disclose that she has recently gone through elective preventative double Mastectomy. She done it in part to the fact that her own mother suffered and died from cancer and because she chose to have the BRAC1 and BRAC2 cancer screening tests done. They are tests to screen for mutated genes that makes you 90% more likely to get breast and ovarian cancer if you are positive for those genes.
She was positive for those genes and she decided to be proactive and eliminate (for the most part) her risk of breast cancer. Her risk went from 87% chance of cancer down to 5% chance of cancer after the surgery. From what I understand she also is in the planning for having her ovaries removed also.
I applaud her bravery to do something that would forever change her perfect appearance. Although with her money and access to the best surgeons in the world I am quite sure they have made her look as flawless as possible considering who she is and how famous she is. Money definitely does buy you better medical care. That's a fact.
Earlier this year I underwent a breast MRI due to a strong family history of females in my family who have had or died from breast cancer. My insurance company approved me to have MRIs instead of Mammograms because the MRI is more accurate and catches the cancer earlier than a mammo can. Now I can go have the MRI done every year if I want to. I have to just pay $800 for the $5200 test. A small price to pay if it saves your life.
However, with such a strong family history of breast cancer (2 aunts on mom's side and one aunt on dad's side) I feel more inclined to be a little proactive myself.
I had a routine physical appointment today with my family doctor and while I was there I asked them to draw blood for me to have the BRAC 1 and BRAC2 tests done to determine if I have the mutated genes.
I may not. If you get a negative test for BRAC that doesn't mean you won't get cancer, it just means that you are not at risk of getting the type of cancer caused by those mutated genes. But if the test is positive it is likely you definitely will end up with cancer. Women who test positive for BRAC, 70% of them get cancer as opposed to just 12% of the general population. 5 times more likely to get cancer.
I am not sure how the genetic testing works or how they determine what your percentage of risk is. They said Angelina Jolie's risk was 87% chance of getting cancer. That is a sure thing. I think she did the right thing. She has a husband and 6 children to live for.
The National Cancer Institute has a survey tool called the breast cancer risk assessment test you can take on their website that asks you a number of questions, then based on those answers they give you a risk of your getting breast cancer. I answered the questions and they gave me a 45% chance of getting breast cancer in my lifetime. That is not nearly as high as Angelina's risk. But I also do not know if I am BRAC positive or not. If I am that risk % will greatly increase.
I don't know what I will do if they tell me I am positive for the mutated genes. Deciding to have a double Mastectomy BEFORE you get cancer is a huge decision. I know it is the smart thing to do because if you get cancer it can be very aggressive and spread before you ever get a chance to treat it. So having the Mastectomy you decrease your risk to almost nothing.
I guess I will wait and see what my results are and then go from there. I do know this...if I am POSITIVE for BRAC then I probably WILL have my Ovaries removed. I have had a partial Hysterectomy 12 years ago so I don't have a Uterus or Cervix but being positive for BRAC greatly increases your risk for Ovarian cancer as well, so those would have to go.
The bad thing about that is, if you have your Ovaries removed 90% of ppl will need Hormone replacement therapy to reduce the symptoms of no longer getting any Estrogen. But Hormone replacement therapy increases your risk of breast cancer. Slippery slope. I am sure someone can live a normal life without Hormone replacement therapy, right? It's just some mood swings and hot flashes right? I would definitely try to do without Hormones if possible.
I also had some standard blood and Urine tests done today since it has been several years since I had any blood work done. Just a CBC, Lipids, liver function, glucose, etc. Those results will be back in a lot quicker than the BRAC test results.
Since I don't have a genetic counselor I am curious how my family doctor will handle giving me my results if I am positive for BRAC.
Well, if I remember, and I probably will, I will come back and update what happened with my results.
If you are 40 or over, go get a Mammogram. If you have a family history of breast cancer get your doctor to order a breast MRI instead. It's painless and quick.
UPDATE: My insurance has denied the pre-authorization for the genetic testing and are refusing to pay for it unless my doctor jumps through hoops, calls in and does a peer to peer conference and all that mess, which my doctor will probably end up doing for me because he is so nice. But I think they will still find a way to deny it. They paid for a $5000 MRI but they don't want to pay for a $3000 genetics test. I guess I am costing them too much money.
Hopefully I will find a way to get the insurance to pay for the tests but I will come back and update later as I get more information.