So I almost let it come and pass without mentioning it.... honestly I kept remembering and forgetting about it all week! MD Anderson actually reminded me because I am part of a research study and my survey was due this week for my "Two Year Follow-Up".
June 5, 2012 I had a double mastectomy and two years later I still say that it was THE best decision I could have made (See this previous post to catch up on the story). Nothing is easy and nothing drastic, like surgery, comes without some changes but to live free from worry about developing breast cancer at some point makes it all worth it! I couldn't live thinking that I was going to be in the 20% of women with my gene that don't develop breast cancer. We don't do Vegas vacations and you can probably see why.... I am not a gambler!
So... what's next you ask? Well, I'm not out of the woods just yet. Part of being BRCA-1 positive is also having an increase risk of ovarian cancer which is actually the more scary of the two cancers. Ovarian cancer is hard to detect early. And here is a disturbing fact: Ovarian cancer accounts for about 3% of cancers among women, but it causes more deaths than any other cancer of the female reproductive system. :( My ovaries must be removed but I am too young to put my body through the HUGE, RIDICULOUS changes (menopause) that would cause. It is not even an option on the table until I am 40. So the plan as of just a year ago was to "wait and see" until I was 40.
My appointments with the MD Anderson Ovarian Clinic are twice a year now since turning 30. The goal is to catch anything early. I just had my first appointment with a new high risk doctor who told me briefly about a NEW research study that I qualify for-- and the game might be changing! I am so excited about this I can barely type! If I believed in former lives, I can confidently say that I would probably have been a lab rat because I love participating in these various research studies.
I will find out more in 6 months when I follow up with her and she lays out the whole plan for me to consider, but here is what she told me briefly. There are several studies that have been done that are indicating that ovarian cancer in BRCA gene carriers originates in the fallopian tubes which are the tubes that connect the ovaries to the uterus. They are looking for 30-somethings to opt for a "salpingectomy" (aka fallopian tube removal) which is done through laparoscopy so it is a much less invasive procedure. By taking the fallopian tubes it is thought that I might be able to "hold onto" my ovaries past 40 which is fantastic. Naturally I qualify because I am a gene carrier, I'm 30, and we are 100% done having babies! Needless to say my new doctor was very excited to have me as a new patient. I can't wait to learn more about this whole procedure and I love that the data that they will collect from me over the next decade will help them learn so much more about the BRCA gene and ovarian cancer.
I am so thankful for this journey that the Lord has brought me on. He has equipped me throughout with the strength I needed to get through it all. This day always makes me reflect on the many family members and friends that helped my family as well. If it wasn't for the meals, notes of encouragement, and occasional visits, it would have been much harder. Thank you for blessing my family back then and now!
There is more to come folks so stay tuned.... :)
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