The 24-year-old Miss D.C. plans to undergo a double mastectomy. She is removing both breasts as a preventive measure to reduce her chances of developing cancer that killed her mother, grandmother and great aunt. She does not carry the “breast cancer genes” BRCA1 and BRCA2.
The number of women opting for preventive mastectomies increased tenfold between 1998 and 2007, as genetic testing and reconstructive surgery options improved, according to a 2010 study published last year in Annals of Surgical Oncology. The procedure is believed to reduce risk by 90 percent.
This kind of pre-emptive surgery has divided the medical community as well. For someone in her early 20s to have the procedure is “very unusual,” said Todd Tuttle, chief of surgical oncology at the University of Minnesota. Sandra Swain, medical director of Washington Cancer Institute in Washington, D.C., fears that women who have lost family members to breast cancer could take Rose’s example too literally. “We’re seen a rise in prophylactic mastectomies and a lot of it is not for a medical reason; it is because of fear and anxiety,” she said.
I developed Bresat Cancer when I was 52. My mother was first diagnosed in her early thirties, and had a masectomy at 35. I had two aunts who both had masectomy. I have been advised to get tested for the BRCA gene.As I’ve blogged about before-I fear the outcome though- because if I test positive, I have a daughter who is 21 and two nieces in their twenties. Would this then lead them to get tested and perhaps consider preventive surgery as Miss D.C. is doing?
Knowledge is power. I was scheduled to have a prophyllactic mastectomy due to the fact that I was a carrier of the BRCA 2 mutation, and 50 years old, and heard a “small voice” saying that it was time. I had known about the mutation for several years due to my proactive stance regarding breast cancer, and having several female realatives die young of breast cancer. Well, it was a good thing I started the process. I had a tumor, which was too small to see on the mammogram I had several months earlier. ( just as a precaution, I asked my MD to order an MRI prior to the preventive mastectomies-which is the standard of care now for high-risk women-the MRI, that is). That is where the tumor showed up, and funny thing is, the doctor ordered another mammogram, and it was negative again!
Everyone has a different and valid way of dealing with this knowlege that we have with genetic testing. It is so individual. I do know that women are being diagnosed with breast cancer earlier and earlier. It certainly can be a load off one’s mind to have the surgery- it was for me. I caught it so early, thanks to genetic testing. Remember tho, a carrier’s children have only a 50% chance of being a carrier. It should be up to the children, once they turn 18 to make that decision, of having a genetic test, IMO. I respect the fact that my son does not want the test, yet, my niece had the test, and thank God, she’s negative, even though her mother is positive, & has chosen to not have the PBM and is older than I am!!
Good luck with whatever decision you make. I highly recommend you talk with a genetic counselor.
Thank you for your post. I didn’t know that a carrier’s children only have 50% chance of being a carrier, that information really helps. I am planning on talking with a genetic counseler- I hope to set an appointment up after my next appointment with my oncologist.
Knowledge is power. I was scheduled to have a prophyllactic mastectomy due to the fact that I was a carrier of the BRCA 2 mutation, and 50 years old, and heard a “small voice” saying that it was time. I had known about the mutation for several years due to my proactive stance regarding breast cancer, and having several female realatives die young of breast cancer. Well, it was a good thing I started the process. I had a tumor, which was too small to see on the mammogram I had several months earlier. ( just as a precaution, I asked my MD to order an MRI prior to the preventive mastectomies-which is the standard of care now for high-risk women-the MRI, that is). That is where the tumor showed up, and funny thing is, the doctor ordered another mammogram, and it was negative again!
Everyone has a different and valid way of dealing with this knowlege that we have with genetic testing. It is so individual. I do know that women are being diagnosed with breast cancer earlier and earlier. It certainly can be a load off one’s mind to have the surgery- it was for me. I caught it so early, thanks to genetic testing. Remember tho, a carrier’s children have only a 50% chance of being a carrier. It should be up to the children, once they turn 18 to make that decision, of having a genetic test, IMO. I respect the fact that my son does not want the test, yet, my niece had the test, and thank God, she’s negative, even though her mother is positive, & has chosen to not have the PBM and is older than I am!!
Good luck with whatever decision you make. I highly recommend you talk with a genetic counselor.
Thank you for your post. I didn’t know that a carrier’s children only have 50% chance of being a carrier, that information really helps. I am planning on talking with a genetic counseler- I hope to set an appointment up after my next appointment with my oncologist.