BRCA Test

I am always early to everything.

I arrived at my follow up doctor appointment 15 minutes early. I parked at the back of the lot per usual so those who aren't able to walk as far/are sick etc don't have to walk quite as far. There really don't seem to be many handicapped spots. Now that my mom is in her current position, I am always more mindful of people who just may not be able to walk far because their body just can't.

I sat in the car and told myself, "Please try not to cry when you hear the results. You more than likely have the breast cancer gene. We already know this. It shouldn't be a shocker."

Deep breath. I was a bit nervous. I also just couldn't handle another piece of bad news.

The nurse called me right on time, took me to a room closeby and took my vitals. "She'll be in shortly!" She left. A minute later, I heard a Knock Knock on the door.

She seemed pleasant. I was trying to read her to see if she was ready to drop a bomb on me. Although maybe she is so used to delivering bad news that I wouldn't be able to decipher her body language.

We started off with the usual greetings. "How are you? I'm good and you?" OK Let's get to it, I'm thinking to myself.

She got right to it. "So you tested negative. You don't have the gene."

I was completely SHOCKED. Absolutely pleasantly surprised.

I had to ask how other people might show up with this test. Would they have multiple mutations? How was my case different? I had one undetermined mutation which basically meant that research hasn't shown any link to cancer (or other conditions). If research determines anything significant, they will contact me.

She did tell me that I am still considered high risk due to my family history. No surprise there. I qualify for additional screenings, mammogram and MRIs more frequently to stay on top of that. She asked how I felt about that, if that would be something I want to do. I of course said, "well why wouldn't I want to screen more frequently to catch it?"

I asked her to confirm that while I may not have the gene, I would reduce my risk greatly by living a healthy lifestyle. I KNOW THIS, but I just wanted to be assured again. She went on to say absolutely-eating poorly causes inflammation which then causes your cells to "misbehave"...and the importance of self care must also be heavily noted. That if I do all that I have been doing, this could be avoided. Naturally, I went on to say that I am concerned about so many people in our country who are not living a healthy lifestyle because they could be at risk for cancer and many other serious conditions. She agreed and said "It's hard for people to completely change their lifestyle unfortunately." YUP..It is. Until they have a condition. Then some people make changes..but isn't it too late in some cases?? Like my Mom's...

I left feeling completely relieved. I do not have to change anything. I am going to continue to WATCH what I put in my body and treat myself well. I feel like I don't have to worry about ME so much anymore. It's just everyone else.

I called Bill first to tell him my news. He seemed relieved.

Then I called my mom. She was very happy to hear my results and listened as I explained what the doctor and I spoke about healthy lifestyles..I could sense that she was thinking if her lifestyle is what could have triggered it for her. She never got the test done. She made a comment saying how sugar is her problem. My mom always had a sweet tooth.