Health News
Editor's Note: A LifeBridge Health patient recently met with one of our genetic counselors. She graciously agreed to share her story in the hopes that it will help others.
A lot of women in my father?s side of the family have been diagnosed with breast cancer, which is why my doctor recommended that I meet with a genetic counselor. Knowing that one is genetically predisposed to a certain cancer can allow screening to occur more often and start at a younger age in attempts to catch any potential cancer at its earliest stage, when it is the most treatable.
There are two known gene mutations ? BRCA1 and BRCA2 ? that greatly increase one?s odds of getting breast cancer. That?s because these gene mutations interfere with the body?s ability to suppress tumors in the breast. It turns out that our bodies frequently make abnormal cells. However, the body also has mechanisms to rid itself of these irregular cells. When these mechanisms fail or aren?t working properly (as in the case of BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutation carriers), that?s when cancer can occur. Having the BRCA mutations increase a woman?s risk of breast cancer to anywhere from 60 to 85 percent. These same mutations also increase the odds of getting ovarian cancer to about 45 percent.
I went to the Alvin & Lois Lapidus Cancer Institute to meet with Shannan DeLany Dixon, M.S., C.G.C., a genetic counselor and director of the Master's in Genetic Counseling Program at the University of Maryland School of Medicine. Shannan regularly sees patients at Sinai and Northwest hospitals. First, she asked me questions related to my personal risk for breast cancer, such as when I had my first menstrual cycle, if I was ever pregnant, my age, if I had ever taken birth control pills, and how much I drank alcohol. Experts estimate that about 75 percent of breast cancer cases are attributable to these lifestyle factors and have nothing to do with our genes; 15 percent are caused by a combination of genetic and lifestyle factors; and 10 percent are inevitable based on genetic makeup.
Shannan mapped out my complete family tree, noting which family members had conditions such as breast cancer, severe diabetes, heart disease and stroke. (As part of her job, she searches for all known genetic-related diseases, not only breast cancer.) While my paternal grandmother and both of her sisters had breast cancer, my grandmother was the only one to get it when she was only 39; the other family members were all women in their 50s, 60s and 70s, when breast cancer is not unusual. Shannan mentioned that there could have been an environmental factor in the town in which they lived that would have caused this breast cancer cluster.
If my grandmother?s breast cancer had been caused by the gene mutation and not her environment or lifestyle, there is a 50 percent chance that I would have inherited a mutated gene from my father. However, as long as I haven?t also received the mutation from my mother, I would not have increased risk for breast cancer because of my genes.
Based on my family tree, Shannan estimated that there would be about a 6 percent chance that a genetic test would come back positive for me, which would not necessarily mean that I would have a cancer-causing mutation to my BRCA1 or BRCA2 genes. A positive test result might show ?a variant of unknown clinical significance,? because there is some normal variation to BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes that researchers are still sorting out.
As it turns out, I decided not to move forward with the genetic test because my mother?s side of the family is largely cancer-free and no one in my family is known to have had ovarian cancer. (Had either of these factors been otherwise, my decision would be different.) Testing would have been an easy process, involving either a blood sample or a cell specimen collected from the inside of my cheeks. I was surprised to learn that my insurance would have covered almost the entire cost of the test.
Meeting with Shannan gave me tremendous peace of mind. I still run the risk for breast cancer (1 in 8 women will be diagnosed at some point in her life), but I now think it?s unlikely that I have a BRCA1 or BRCA2 gene mutation. This doesn?t mean I can let my guard down. I will still get my annual mammograms and do all that I can through diet and exercise to lead a healthy lifestyle ? the best form of cancer prevention.
Do you have an increased risk for breast cancer based on certain lifestyle factors? Take LifeBridge Health?s free risk assessment at Know Your Health. There are also several helpful websites with information on genetics, such as the Family Cancer Genetics Network and Facing Our Risk of Cancer Empowered (FORCE).
- Breast Cancer Awareness: Testing Urged, Guidelines Explained, Misconceptions Explored
Women with BRCA1 and BRCA2, the genes most commonly involved in breast cancer, have up to an 80 percent chance of getting the disease.October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Although Kentucky's breast cancer rate is slightly lower than the nationwide...
- Multi-disciplinary Care At Northwest Hospital
If you are facing a breast cancer diagnosis, you want confidence that your treatment plan is the best one possible. To ensure that each breast cancer patient of the Herman & Walter Samuelson Breast Care Center does, in fact, receive the best care,...
- My First Mammogram
One of our LifeBridge Health patients wrote the following account of her experience of finding a breast lump and having a diagnostic mammogram. Part One deals with finding a breast abnormality, specifically in a young woman. Part Two, which will be posted...
- Breast Cancer Screening Offered
If you're a woman, mark your calender for Wednesday, October 7. That's when we're inviting you to join us for an evening of frank and honest discussion about women?s breast health hosted by WJZ-TV 13 news anchor Mary Bubala. Clinical breast...
- Cases Of Breast Cancer Among Younger Women Rising
By Deb Kirkland, RN, BSN, MPH Nurse Navigator, Herman & Walter Samuelson Breast Center at Northwest Hospital This year over 200,000 women in the United States will be diagnosed with breast cancer, and of those 11,000 will be under the age of 40. This...
Health News
Meeting with a Genetic Counselor
Editor's Note: A LifeBridge Health patient recently met with one of our genetic counselors. She graciously agreed to share her story in the hopes that it will help others.
A lot of women in my father?s side of the family have been diagnosed with breast cancer, which is why my doctor recommended that I meet with a genetic counselor. Knowing that one is genetically predisposed to a certain cancer can allow screening to occur more often and start at a younger age in attempts to catch any potential cancer at its earliest stage, when it is the most treatable.
There are two known gene mutations ? BRCA1 and BRCA2 ? that greatly increase one?s odds of getting breast cancer. That?s because these gene mutations interfere with the body?s ability to suppress tumors in the breast. It turns out that our bodies frequently make abnormal cells. However, the body also has mechanisms to rid itself of these irregular cells. When these mechanisms fail or aren?t working properly (as in the case of BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutation carriers), that?s when cancer can occur. Having the BRCA mutations increase a woman?s risk of breast cancer to anywhere from 60 to 85 percent. These same mutations also increase the odds of getting ovarian cancer to about 45 percent.
I went to the Alvin & Lois Lapidus Cancer Institute to meet with Shannan DeLany Dixon, M.S., C.G.C., a genetic counselor and director of the Master's in Genetic Counseling Program at the University of Maryland School of Medicine. Shannan regularly sees patients at Sinai and Northwest hospitals. First, she asked me questions related to my personal risk for breast cancer, such as when I had my first menstrual cycle, if I was ever pregnant, my age, if I had ever taken birth control pills, and how much I drank alcohol. Experts estimate that about 75 percent of breast cancer cases are attributable to these lifestyle factors and have nothing to do with our genes; 15 percent are caused by a combination of genetic and lifestyle factors; and 10 percent are inevitable based on genetic makeup.
Shannan mapped out my complete family tree, noting which family members had conditions such as breast cancer, severe diabetes, heart disease and stroke. (As part of her job, she searches for all known genetic-related diseases, not only breast cancer.) While my paternal grandmother and both of her sisters had breast cancer, my grandmother was the only one to get it when she was only 39; the other family members were all women in their 50s, 60s and 70s, when breast cancer is not unusual. Shannan mentioned that there could have been an environmental factor in the town in which they lived that would have caused this breast cancer cluster.
If my grandmother?s breast cancer had been caused by the gene mutation and not her environment or lifestyle, there is a 50 percent chance that I would have inherited a mutated gene from my father. However, as long as I haven?t also received the mutation from my mother, I would not have increased risk for breast cancer because of my genes.
Based on my family tree, Shannan estimated that there would be about a 6 percent chance that a genetic test would come back positive for me, which would not necessarily mean that I would have a cancer-causing mutation to my BRCA1 or BRCA2 genes. A positive test result might show ?a variant of unknown clinical significance,? because there is some normal variation to BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes that researchers are still sorting out.
As it turns out, I decided not to move forward with the genetic test because my mother?s side of the family is largely cancer-free and no one in my family is known to have had ovarian cancer. (Had either of these factors been otherwise, my decision would be different.) Testing would have been an easy process, involving either a blood sample or a cell specimen collected from the inside of my cheeks. I was surprised to learn that my insurance would have covered almost the entire cost of the test.
Meeting with Shannan gave me tremendous peace of mind. I still run the risk for breast cancer (1 in 8 women will be diagnosed at some point in her life), but I now think it?s unlikely that I have a BRCA1 or BRCA2 gene mutation. This doesn?t mean I can let my guard down. I will still get my annual mammograms and do all that I can through diet and exercise to lead a healthy lifestyle ? the best form of cancer prevention.
Do you have an increased risk for breast cancer based on certain lifestyle factors? Take LifeBridge Health?s free risk assessment at Know Your Health. There are also several helpful websites with information on genetics, such as the Family Cancer Genetics Network and Facing Our Risk of Cancer Empowered (FORCE).
- Breast Cancer Awareness: Testing Urged, Guidelines Explained, Misconceptions Explored
Women with BRCA1 and BRCA2, the genes most commonly involved in breast cancer, have up to an 80 percent chance of getting the disease.October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Although Kentucky's breast cancer rate is slightly lower than the nationwide...
- Multi-disciplinary Care At Northwest Hospital
If you are facing a breast cancer diagnosis, you want confidence that your treatment plan is the best one possible. To ensure that each breast cancer patient of the Herman & Walter Samuelson Breast Care Center does, in fact, receive the best care,...
- My First Mammogram
One of our LifeBridge Health patients wrote the following account of her experience of finding a breast lump and having a diagnostic mammogram. Part One deals with finding a breast abnormality, specifically in a young woman. Part Two, which will be posted...
- Breast Cancer Screening Offered
If you're a woman, mark your calender for Wednesday, October 7. That's when we're inviting you to join us for an evening of frank and honest discussion about women?s breast health hosted by WJZ-TV 13 news anchor Mary Bubala. Clinical breast...
- Cases Of Breast Cancer Among Younger Women Rising
By Deb Kirkland, RN, BSN, MPH Nurse Navigator, Herman & Walter Samuelson Breast Center at Northwest Hospital This year over 200,000 women in the United States will be diagnosed with breast cancer, and of those 11,000 will be under the age of 40. This...