All in the genes...

On January 8th, Derek and I went to Sunnybrook again. We went to have a genetic test done to determine if I have the BRCA1 or BRCA2 gene (Breast Cancer 1 or Breast Cancer 2 gene), or more, a mutation to either gene.  I was immediately a candidate for this testing because my mother had had breast cancer and because of my age when I was diagnosed with breast cancer. The cool thing with going through Sunnybrook instead of Lakeridge is that we will have the results back in ten working days and they will also do a second test run through a second hospital. Typically, when genetic testing is done the results take two to three months. The results will be compared for accuracy. Once we met with the genetic counsellor, we found out that there are certain cancers that have some relation to each other - pancreatic, breast, ovarian, prostate and skin cancer. Our responses became more interesting to the geneticist because he discovered that my mother's grandfather had cancer, her father had pancreatic cancer, she had breast cancer and now I have breast cancer.  That makes four generations of cancer that is all related to each other. When you are born, you are born with two sets of genes, one from your mother's side and one from your father's side. When you have children, you pass on one set of those genes (50% chance of it being either your mother's or your father's genes - no rhyme or reason). Having said all this, and with having had four generations of related cancers, there is still only a 1 in 400 chance that I may have the BRCA1 or BRCA2 gene. This also means that if I have the gene mutation, I have a 50% chance of passing the gene on to my son. There are a lot of family implications involved. If the test comes back positive, my mother will then also be tested because other areas of our family will need to know for their own health. It's all in the genes. Now we wait...