Carrying The Breast Cancer Gene What’s The Right Choice
Posted by sher on 9/16/08 • Categorized as Facts
According to chon.com women who find themselves carriers of the mutated breast cancer gene find themselves facing a tough decision. Should one opt for a double mastectomy to eliminate the risk of breast cancer or should one simply use the information as a tool?
What if you were told if you didn’t have a mastectomy that your risk of getting breast cancer was 87% and your risk of getting ovarian cancer was 44%. That’s what happened to an Edmonton women, who quickly opted for the double mastectomy and the removal of both her ovaries that took her risk factor below the national average.
Other women opt not for the surgery but instead choose to participate in more aggressive testing such as mammograms every 6 months, and still others choose to use medications such as Tamoxifen or Raloxifene to reduce their risks of developing breast cancer.
What would you do? This is certainly a difficult question that most of us would prefer not to have to answer. Now that said, the fact that there is a genetic test that can let high risk women know whether they are carrying the gene or not, is truly remarkable and a testament to where we have gone in a diagnosing of breast cancer.
If there is breast cancer that runs in your family this test could truly save your life. The bottom line is that no matter which option you choose if you do in fact carry the gene, you will have a warning that you wouldn’t otherwise have and that in itself will result in more diligence and you are much more likely to have a positive outcome.
