32-HIGH RISK-close to home

I am 32 yrs old and am high risk too. The last three generations of women on my moms side have had cancer. My grandmother only has 1 breast. My great grand mother had it but died of lung cancer. I have mammograms every six months for the last 2 years and now they have sent me to a breast surgeon. So I can see how you are feeling. It's very scary. I am terrified. I don't want to be sick or lose my breast(s). I haven't been cut open yet, except for pelvically. There are several types of cancer that run in my family. I have had a partial hysterectamy and have my ovaries. Several times they have cut me open to look at my ovaries with thought that they might take them out. The pain is so bad sometimes, I wish they would. My insides keep healing together and my health is not very good, on top of that I only have 1 kidney, so my fear is very extreme. I am soooo sorry your are going through this. Try and stay positive. I wish I had some advice for you but I don't. I am new to these experiences. I am always willing to listen if you need to talk or comment.

The first step in the genetic testing process is to talk to a genetic counsellor at a facility that does genetic testing.  To do this, I'd suggest that you ask your doctor to refer you to a genetic testing facility and they will set up the appointment for you with a counsellor. While every facility does things a little differently, prior to my appointment, I was sent a very lengthy questionnaire asking about the health history of all my relatives on both sides of my family.  I mailed this in, and when I went in to meet the counsellor, she had already reviewed the materials and was able to tell me that while my risk of having the BRCA1 or BRCA2 gene was not overly high, there was enough family history both on my dad's side and my mum's side to warrant the genetic test.  She then explained what the test results would mean to me and to my family, both if the results were negative and if the results were positive.  After that, she gave me the choice of going ahead with the test or not.  The test itself simply requires a vial of blood, nothing more.  I decided to go ahead with the test and fortunately, I tested negative.

Hope that helps.  And here's a website that is focused exclusively on genetic breast and ovarian cancer:  http://www.facingourrisk.org/  You'll find lots of helpful information on this site.

I am trying to decide what i should do, my mother and grandmother both had breast cancer at a young age.  I have just recently coem to the conclusion that i need to be proactive and not just sit back and wait for the day that i find a lump.  It is a hard decision to make, i feel for you.