Sister...bonding?

Well, well it is almost half way through August. Where did summer go??!! The days are already noticeably shorter and kids are almost back in school. And we have been crazy busy!!

Since I last blogged I have dramatically increased the amount of dog training I have been doing. For anyone that didn’t know I am a certified dog trainer. I obtained my certificate Sept 2010 but didn’t do much with it at the beginning because of the wedding and then with all the upper body surgeries I have gone through (thanks “C”) I haven’t been able to do much work with dogs. In May – June (ish) I started to take on some clients – so much so that I have backed off work at the clinic by 2 days a month. I love training and problem solving and figuring out why dogs are acting the way they are and as long as the owner does the work it is very rewarding. 

We also have been doing tons of landscaping (mostly the hubby) and hanging out with family and friends. Basically we have been swamped. 

Anyways let’s get to the title of this blog…the information I am about to share with you I knew last time I blogged however it had to sink in for the person involved and she had to make some decisions. So unfortunately we have had some pretty shitty news. Let’s start with a little back story – I may have already shared this with you but just a quick refresh!

Because of my age when I was diagnosed (24 effing years old), the doctors recommended I be tested for the BRCA mutation. This mutation can give someone a huge increase in chance for a few cancers but mostly breast (60 – 80% chance) and ovarian (50 – 70% chance).  Only about 5% of breast cancers are related to a mutation – think about that number….1 in 9 women will get breast cancer. Only 5% are related. Pretty small chance that this was the reason I got breast cancer considering that number and the fact that no family (perhaps a great aunt back in the line) has ever had cancer – of any kind. There are a lot of women in my family and we would have thought it would have reared its ugly head if the mutation was floating around. So you can imagine how shocked and devastated I was to find out that I did, in fact, carry a BRCA1 mutation. This gave me an answer to the question – why me, but it made me so scared for the rest of my family. First we had to find out what parent the mutation was coming from. Now everyone thinks breast cancer is a woman thing – this is false. 1% of breast cancers occur in men – these men usually care a mutation. So it could have been either of my parents. And it was my Dad. He is the carrier (it comes from somewhere above him) and he had 50% chance of giving it to his children.  He has 3 children. Myself, my 17 year old brother and 19 year old sister. Something else you probably don’t know is 6 months after my diagnoses my brother was diagnosed with testicular cancer. He to (thankfully) is ok. But this leaves only 1 child untouched by this terrible disease. And so starts my story…

My sister decided she wanted to find out if she carried this mutation so she could make some decision about her future. She watched her 2 siblings go through the nasty, devastating treatment and decided she wanted to find out if she was at a great risk. It breaks my heart that in April her results came back, she is positive for the same mutation. My sister has a very high chance of developing cancer. And no one knows when. All we know is I got it at a unbelievable young age (most people with mutations still don’t develop it until 40ish) and our brother got cancer. So after a few months of meeting with surgeons, talking to me and the rest of her family that sometime probably within the next year she will lose her breasts. She doesn’t want to wait to get cancer but rather be pro-active and take her health in her hands. I can’t tell you how much it hurts to know she has to go through this at 19 years old. Think of where you were when you were 19. You weren’t getting ready to lose your boobs.  It was an easy decision for me because I had cancer, I wasn’t naive anymore, I knew it could happen to me. She is one of the strongest women I know. At a young age like that making a decision that will change her life forever but it will give her some peace. It sucks knowing you have ticking time bombs on your chest. 

So please keep her in your thoughts as she begins her journey. It will be hard and emotional but she will live a long, healthy life without being scared every 6 months for a test to look for cancer. I will be there for her as much as I can and we will definitely bond over this shitty gene we share.  Love you sis.