Two-time cancer survivor reviews some of the questions about genetic testing for other cancer survivors.
BY Barbara Tako
PUBLISHED December 14, 2019
Barbara Tako is a breast cancer survivor (2010), melanoma survivor (2014) and author of Cancer Survivorship Coping Tools–We'll Get You Through This. She is a cancer coping advocate, speaker and published writer for television, radio and other venues across the country. She lives, survives, and thrives in Minnesota with her husband, children and dog. See more at www.cancersurvivorshipcopingtools.com ,or www.clutterclearingchoices.com.
Some of the biggest advances in cancer research are currently happening in the field of genetics. Genetic testing can be a wild crazy ride with sharp curves, and ups and downs that require thoughtful understanding.
I had genetic testing nine years ago at my initial breast cancer diagnosis and then done again last year, several years after breast cancer and an unrelated melanoma. We had gone looking for two possible mutations nine years ago and now there were nineteen potential mutations to check for a year ago! The issues genetic testing brings up are ongoing, complex, and changing.
Would you want to be the embryo in the petri dish that was not chosen for implantation because of a discovered hereditary genetic mutation? Would you want to shove potential worries onto offspring years ahead of an actual cancer diagnosis, or other health problem, that might never happen? Still, cancer caught early is often more treatable, so if cancer screening tests can happen for people with a genetic predisposition to cancer, that is very encouraging and exciting news.
So, would you consider major surgery before even getting cancer?
I had genetic testing nine years ago at my initial breast cancer diagnosis and then done again last year, several years after breast cancer and an unrelated melanoma. We had gone looking for two possible mutations nine years ago and now there were nineteen potential mutations to check for a year ago! The issues genetic testing brings up are ongoing, complex, and changing.
Would you want to be the embryo in the petri dish that was not chosen for implantation because of a discovered hereditary genetic mutation? Would you want to shove potential worries onto offspring years ahead of an actual cancer diagnosis, or other health problem, that might never happen? Still, cancer caught early is often more treatable, so if cancer screening tests can happen for people with a genetic predisposition to cancer, that is very encouraging and exciting news.
So, would you consider major surgery before even getting cancer?
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