Listen Live

Jackie-1“Things change after you become a parent.  Something about being sleep deprived and being wholly responsible for another human being makes you take a good look at your life.  I decided to look into this whole cancer thing. 

I sat down with my physician and explained my concerns. Talk about going down a rabbit hole. She sent me to see a genetic counselor who explained my risks, talked about screening options, and asked if I wanted to pursue genetic testing. The genetic counselor knew that my risk of breast or ovarian cancer could be passed down from either parent’s side of the family.

I was left with a tough decision. Did I want to undergo the blood test to see if I carried a gene mutation that left me susceptible to developing breast and ovarian cancer?  You would think this would be easy. I already had a cancer scare, I had a very strong family history, I was in the office, yet I walked away. 

I called my best friend, who listened and then told me I was being an idiot. Whether or not I got the test wasn’t going to change the results…I was just going to have tools to make an informed decision. Dang your friends when they actually use logic and common sense.  I returned a week later, had the blood test and found out I was BRCA1 positive.”

My Story: “My Child Won’t Lose Her Mother To Ovarian Cancer”  was originally published on blackdoctor.org

« Previous page 1 2 3 Next page »