Hope, Healing, and the Road Ahead

  4th of July Family Photo At my first oncology appointment way back in June , I was offered the option to have genetic testing done through a simple blood test . I didn’t hesitate to take the test ; for me it was a no brainer . So, I found it surprising as I did additional research to discover that m any breast cancer patients in the United States either don’t qualify for genetic t esting or they elect not to have it done.    Genetic testing can help identify inherited gene mutations that increase the risk of developing certain cancers . The genetic test I had analyzed over 70 mutations in genes which are commonly linked to breast and ovarian cancer. The most well-know n breast cancer genes are BRCA1 and BRCA2 which stand for BReast CA n cer genes 1 and 2. These genes play a role in DNA repair and prevention of tumor growth. The National Cancer Institute reports that m ore than 60% of women who inherit a harmful change in BRCA1 or BRACA 2 will develo...

Two weeks after my initial surgery I found myself back at Community Medical Center—this time for a sentinel lymph node biopsy on the left side. My cousin Joe drove me to the hospital for my 7 am check-in and by 8 am I was headed back to the strange room in the basement where they injected the radioactive tracer which allowed the surgeon to be able to find the lymph node via her gamma detection probe. After eight injections (4 pain meds and 4 dye), I was wheeled back upstairs for blood work and an EKG. My surgeon was squeezing my surgery in between an already busy clinic day, so I had a long wait (about four hours) in the pre-op area. I knew this in advance, so I brought a book a long, took a cat nap, and chatted on and off with the same nurse that I had last time—who is also a breast cancer survivor. As surgery got closer, the anesthesiologist stopped by for his visit. It was a different doctor from the previous surgery, and I had to stifle some giggles when he entered my room…it...