[medinformatics] Genetic screening can give a glimpse of the future

[Medical Informatics News]

Filed under: Breast Cancer, Ovarian Cancer*Tonight I have spent far too much time on the computer but I have run across some goodies. Here is one about a woman who is actually a "pre-vivor" as she learns through a genetic screening that her chances for breast and ovarian cancer are at 80%. The author lost her mother to ovarian cancer at age 56, so she took extra care to eat healthy, get twice a year exams and, at age 46, a genetic screening. The doctor did not have great news, a deleterious mutation of the* BRCA2* gene. "The BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes -- discovered in the mid-1990s and named for their connection to BReast CAncer -- play a role in helping our bodies stop the growth of tumors. We are all born with two copies of these genes, one from our mother and one from our father. If we inherit a mutated copy from either parent, it is like driving with one foot off the brake. The second copy of the gene can still protect us -- unless at some point it too is damaged by chance, aging or environmental hazards. Then both feet are off the brake, and a tumor has greater freedom to grow," says Ilana De Bare, author.Ms. De Bare worked through the steps of denial to accaptance in regards to her diagnosis. She now thinks of her cancer odds as a tool to survival, "with my renegade gene, I*am happy as a clam. I had my preventive ovary removal and mastectomy a year ago, recovered smoothly and feel healthier than ever. " Click here to read more.*ReadPermalink*|*Email this*|*Linking*Blogs*|*Comments









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