Joined: Mar 2005 Gender: Female Posts: 127 Location: New Zealand
I have the cancer Gene « Thread Started on Apr 6, 2005, 8:20pm »
This is a story from out of That's Life! magazine from Australia.
This is about a woman named Amanda Shadie, 27, Glenmore Park NSW.
I was at the gym when I noticed a sore spot around my right breast, but it wasn't until I lay in bed that night that I felt a lump. It was hard and round and about the size of a five-cent piece. I ran downstairs, where my mum Joyce, a nurses' assistant, was preparing for a night shift. 'I've found a lump in my breast,' I said. Mum had several harmless cysts in her breast, so she wasn't too concerned. 'Get it checked out at the doctor's,' she said. 'I'm sure it's nothing.' I was pretty sure, too. After all, I was 22 and no-one in my family had had breast cancer.
My Gp did a biopsy, which revealed that the lump was a cyst. 'It's nothing to worry about,' he said, draining it. Relieved, I kept working as a sterilisation technician at a hospital and spent most evenings at the gym or playing basketball. But two months later the lump was bigger and still tender, so I went back to the doctor. He tried to drain it , but nothing came out. So he referred me to a breast specialist, who recommended a lumpectomy, an operation to remove the cyst and surrounding tissue. I stayed in hospital overnight, and two weeks later the doctor's nurse raqng. 'The doctor would like to see you,' she said. 'Do I have cancer?' I asked. 'The results have come back and he would like to see you tomorrow,' she said. I rang my parents, who were out shopping. As soon as my dad Anthony, 55, answered, I burst into tears. 'I think I've got cancer,' I said.
Mum and Dad came straight home. 'Don't jump to conclusions, sweetheart,' Dad said, giving me a hug. The next morning my heart was racing as the doctor told Mum, Dad and me to sit down. 'The cells are cancerous,' he said. All three of us began to cry. He told us it was an aggressive cancer and that I would need chemotherapy, radiotherapy and a mastectomy. The words just swam around in my head. I was 22 - I couldn't believe this was happening.
'Am I going to die?' I asked. 'Your chances are very good,' the doctor said. I left the surgery in tears and rang my brother and best friend, Jason, 32. 'We'll get through this,' he said. I had surgery to remove the cancerous cells two weeks later. The cancer hadn't spread to my lymph nodes, but I still needed 12 weeks of chemo. Within weeks my bones ached and then my long, wavy brown hair started falling out. 'Shave it all off, please,' I said to Jason. When he'd finished, we stared at my reflection for ages. 'It doesn't look too bad,' Jason finally said. After chemo I had three months radiotherapy. I had to quit my job and I worried I'd be a financial burden to on my parents. Dad spent hours researching my conditiion on the internet. He discovered we could have a genetic test to see if our family was particularly susceptible to the cancer. It revealed that I had a BRCA1 gene mutation - which can increase the risk of developing breast and ovarian cancer. Luckily no-one else in my family had the gene - except for Dad. He did more research and found that several women in his family had died of ovarian or breast cancer at an early age. 'It's my fault you've had to go through this,' Dad said.
'Please don't be so silly.' I told him. The BRAC1 gene mutation meant I had a 50-80 per cent chance of developing breast cancer in my left breast and ovaries. My doctor suggested I have a double mastectomy and have my ovaries and fallopian tubes removed. It would mean I'd never have children, but with my life in question, that was something I had to accept. Three months later I had the double mastectomy. It was hard waking up to a completely flat chest, but I didn't want to live my life under the shadow of cancer. I'm now having breast reconstruction and will then have my fallopian tubes and ovaries removed. It's been hard and I'm not fully comfortable with myself yet - which is why I haven't started a relationship.
I now work with The Cancer Council NSW and I want to help others with cancer. I don't know where I'd be without Jason and my parents. I'm just thankful to be alive and I am looking forward to the future.
* Amanda is donating the payment from this article to The Cancer Council NSW.
Joined: Mar 2005 Gender: Female Posts: 127 Location: New Zealand
Re: I have the cancer Gene « Reply #1 on Apr 9, 2005, 4:16am »
After reading this story and then thinking about it for a while, I realised that even though some of us may not have anyone in our family die from cancer, we could have the cancer gene without knowing it.
I remember when they use to say that if there is a history of woman and men in your family dying from cancer, then you are most likely to have the gene, but now a days it doesn't matter.
Please get yourselves checked to see if you may have the gene, even though there might not be a history of relatives dying from cancer in your family. This thing can hit anyone now.
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