Today I met the genetics doctor to discuss the chances of me carrying either the faulty BRCA1 or BRCA2 genes. For this I had to travel over to the Churchill hospital in Oxford.
Once there I was met by a really lovely lady by the name of Barbara Stayner who is the principle genetic counsellor.
First of all we chatted about my diagnosis and how that made me feel and we spent quite a while just going through some of my fears and anxieties. Barbara wanted to know all about me and my family and how the kids were coping with everything. She made me feel like a real person not just another patient to come walking through her door.
Once she had collected a brief personal history we then started piecing together a family tree and any family history of cancer. There were lots of questions to go through and I had to supply birth details of all my family. After this was completed Barbara then went on to explain that having a grade 3 tumour (the highest grade) that is triple negative might mean that it is more likely that my personal and family history have been caused by a problem with a faulty gene. These genes are genes that both men and women have and they normally work to protect against breast and ovarian cancer in women and prostate cancer in men. She went on to explain to me that BRCA gene testing is not perfect and there is a small chance that a gene alteration may be missed. It may also be possible that my cancer could be caused by a gene similar to BRCA that has not yet been discovered. For these reasons, even if a BRCA gene problem is not identified it is still advisable for me to have a bilateral mastectomy with reconstruction as they can't rule out the possibility of another primary cancer returning.
We then went on to discuss ovarian cancer as quite often breast and ovarian cancer go hand in hand. Oncologists recommend risk reducing removal of the ovaries as part of cancer treatment for ladies who have had triple-negative tumours to reduce the hormone levels in the body.
I spent almost two hours with Barbara and she was even happy to have her picture taken for this blog.
Once done she filled out the form for my blood test and I went and had that done straight away. I now have about 6-8 weeks to wait for the results. I need it to come back with a definite negative to the BRCA genes or else it's more surgery for me.
Cancer. The gift that keeps on giving.
No comments:
Post a Comment