Good News

That's right, I finally got some good news from a doctor this year!

A few weeks ago I met with a genetic counselor at the Familial Cancer Program with the Vermont Cancer Center at FAHC. My doctor referred me to this program because of the history of cancer in my family. When I met with the counselor, I learned that when two of more relatives in a family have cancer, the family has familial cancer. Familial cancer is sporadic and not necessarily due to the inheritance of a cancer-causiing gene.

Then there is inherited cancer, which means familial cancer results from inheriting a cancer-causing gene - this type of cancer is called hereditary cancer and can be passed on to future generations.

Due to my particular family history, the counselor suggested that genetic testing would be appropriate for me. A blood sample was taken and submitted for testing for BRCA genes, specifically BRCA1 and BRCA2, which if positive, can indicate a higher risk for breast and ovarian cancers.

As you probably have already guessed by the name of this post, my test results came back negative. Due to my family history, I still am at a higher risk that the general population for another cancer event (as opposed to a recurrence of the current cancer I am in the process of eradicating). Due to this higher risk, I will be working with the counselor to determine what the best course of action will be for monitoring and testing as we move forward once I'm finished with treatment.