BRCA1

So, have you heard of BRCA 1 or BRCA 2? Yeah, neither had I. Turns out, its part of your DNA. And I might have a mutated one.
I have been having 'discomfort' (always a nice way doctors talk about pain) in my breasts for about 6 weeks. And although I have completed monthly breast check exams and have felt nothing the discomfort has continued on for the entire 6 weeks, through my whole female cycle etc. So because of my family history I made an appt with a breast specialist my Mom goes too.
So turns out after testing that my pain is just a normal breast tenderness, I can't remember at the moment what it is called but it has to do with the fibers etc. So I am basically supposed to take Prim Rose and Vitamin E.
The reason I am blogging about my boobs for the world to read is because after the probing and the prodding it was brought to my attention that I may carry the BCRA1 and BCRA2 mutated gene. You see with my moms history of breast cancer before 35 and my aunts at age 45, it is highly likely that we have a goofed up gene in our family blood line. And its really important for me to get tested to see if I have it. The chances for breast cancer go from 8% to 87% if you carry this gene. That is crazy! Ovarian cancer risks increase dramatically too.
So, go get tested your thinking, yeah, not so quick. First my mom has to be tested. And it may not be covered by insurance. Then if she's positive, then I get tested. Not so hard, until you start reading about discrimination.
Having that kind of info in you medical files could really help me and hurt me at the same time. I guess if I am positive, the insurance companies have to start testing me earlier for every thing. And do more complex testing. This is good. It could save my life. The down side is that life insurance companies, long term care insurance and disability insurance could be denied if I have that in my file.
So what to do? Well, my mom made an appt for the first of the year to talk to the doctor about it. We were going to look into this coming week, but with all the other stuff going on right now, this has been pushed back a bit.
So anyway, just wanted to blog, so Sydney one day knows what I was told recently, so she can make informed decisions when she gets of age.