Every day we, as parents, try to prevent our children from
getting sick. We research, ask questions, and seek educated opinions
because our children's health and well-being matters. Well, Mamas, we matter too;
we need to be doing the same for ourselves. Anyone who has flown in a plane knows that to be of
service to others you have to take care of yourself first. That is how I view
genetic testing. It is a means of ensuring the best chance humanly
possible that you will be on hand for every milestone in your child's
life. I did my genetic
testing for my children, my
husband, and myself. I did this for my family, for all of us.
As an adolescent, I watched helplessly as my mother went through a rather
aggressive pre-menopausal breast cancer when she was just a little older than I
am now. It was awful. It put her and our family through so much, and sadly my only available course of prevention
for years was routine monitoring and praying that I would never have to repeat that
scenario with my own family.
I am getting a head start that so many more people deserve and have available to them but may not know about. I say let's get the word out.
Well, I "lucked" out. While nursing my third child, I developed
mastitis (That's not the lucky bit. LOL) and was told by a breast doctor that I
would need to have my mother genetically screened for hereditary gene mutation
since she had already had cancer. In my particular situation, this was not
a viable option. I could, however, have the screening myself. Nevertheless, insurance wouldn’t cover it, and the cost was
in the range of $4000-5000 out of pocket.
The "luck" came after some
research when I read of an initiative set in motion by Hudson Alpha here in our
very own Research Park to provide breast cancer gene screenings for $99, $199
or even free depending on age, gender and location. WOW!! I was able to
register for my kit the very first day it became available. It was so
straightforward. They mailed me a cheek swab kit with super simple
instructions (Think crime show cheek swab easy.)
which I followed and then mailed back. Couldn't have been
easier. They later contacted me with my results. I quickly found that
in cases like mine where a mutation is found, they even had some local
resources to suggest. By this point, I was far beyond luck and undeniably into
pure blessing!
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| This simple kit can provide you with important genetic information |
I've now known what mutation I have for a little over two weeks, and I am
already well on my way to my personal path of prevention: One made for me,
by me and specifically tailored to me with the help of so many wonderful
professionals ON MY TERMS without the stress of a crisis situation. I am
getting a head start that so many more people deserve and have available to
them but may not know about. I say let's get the word out. This isn’t
the only program of its kind; it was just the best one for me.
I would encourage anyone with a family history of cancer to look into this
program or one similar to it for affordable testing. Advocate for yourself
like you would your children. Be fierce and go for it. Knowledge is
power, and for me, that statement has never been truer than now!
