BRCA: My Story of Hope and Healing: Welcome!!

Tuesday

Welcome!!

Welcome to my blog...the following two entries will explain my journey through the first six months of finding out about the BRCA mutation and my medical journey. Following those posts are many more on the research I have done on the mutation and cancer in general. I have done my best to TAG my posts for easy reference. If you have any questions on anything posted here feel free to contact me at joshcami@yahoo.com.

Happy Reading,
Cami

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

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About Me

My name is Cami, I am a wife, a mother, a daughter, a sister and a friend. I have six beautiful children and an amazing husband.

In December 2010 my mother passed away at the age of 53 of breast cancer. Two weeks later I found out that I am a carrier of the same genetic mutation, BRCA 2, that my mother had.

I have taken some steps medically and naturally to beat my odds of cancer. I am sharing my journey here to benefit those seeking knowledge and information about cancer, genetic mutation and good health in general.

What are my chances for developing cancer with a BRCA gene mutation?

According to estimates, about 36% – 85% of women with a BRCA gene mutation will develop breast cancer. In other words, women with an altered BRCA1 or BRCA2 gene are 3 to 7 times more likely to develop breast cancer than women without a BRCA mutation.

Having a BRCA mutation increases your lifetime risk of developing ovarian cancer from an estimated 2% (general population) to between 20- 60%. Note that these figures are estimated ranges that may change with more research.

A woman's lifetime chance of developing breast and/or ovarian cancer is greatly increased if she tests positive for a BRCA mutation. If you have a BRCA mutation, you also have an increased risk of developing these cancers at a young age (before menopause), and may have an increased chance of developing colon cancer.

This mutatuion is passed down through a mother or a father. If your mother or father tests negative, the children need not worry about the genetic mutation.