Preventing Breast Cancer

The BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes can carry certain mutation which can increase a women's susceptibility of getting breast cancer by 80%. After finding out that their likeliness of getting breast cancer are up 80% some have an option of a mastectomy which removes the breasts and can prevent the diseases by 90%. In the study they followed the data of 1,600 women with the BRCA genes from 9 countries. Half of the women got mastectomies and half did not. Of the half that did go through with the mastectomy there were 20 cases of breast cancer and 2 deaths. However, of the half who did not get the mastectomy there were 100 cases of breast cancer and 7 deaths. 

In my opinion I think it is great that women have the option and ability to chose whether or not they receive a mastectomy. It does make me wonder in the future if there would be anything genetically we could figure out instead of having women either get a mastectomy or have an 80% chance of getting breast cancer. Overall, I'm glad that they can catch it early in some cases now within an individuals genes and hope that it keeps saving lives in the process.

Link: https://www.usnews.com/news/health-news/articles/2024-02-20/preventive-mastectomies-may-save-lives-of-women-with-breast-cancer-genes

Additional Link: https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/breast-cancer/symptoms-causes/syc-20352470

Three Sisters Choose Preventative Care after Genetic Testing Results

     Three sisters, Patti Broccoli, Cathy Balsamo and Cindy Lepore decided to go for genetic testing after Cathy saw an advertisement in her doctor's office. After giving a detailed family history, the sisters were informed that they would be good candidates to be tested for the BRCA 1 and BRCA 2 gene mutations. The results showed that all three of them had the BRCA 1 gene mutation, meaning that their chances of developing breast and/or ovarian cancer in their lifetime was as high as 90%. With this new found information, they decided to all get double mastectomies and had their ovaries removed as well. This drastic measure is one that the women felt that they needed to make in order to ensure their survival. Nowadays, more and more women are opting for the preventative care of double mastectomies and oophorecomies.

Patti Broccoli, Cathy Balsamo, and Cindy Lepore

     As someone who has a high prevalence of breast cancer within my family, I can understand the fear of getting the disease one day. Personally, I am planning on getting genetic testing done in the near future to see exactly how high my risk is. If it comes up that I have the BRCA 1 or BRCA 2 gene mutation, preventative care is certainly an option that I will be looking into. I simply hope that advancements in medicine will help so that such drastic measures won't need to be taken by women who have the mutations. 

Link to article: http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2014/04/genetic_test_results_led_three_berkeley_heights_sisters_to_opt_for_surgery.html

Link to related article: http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/factsheet/Risk/BRCA