Genetic What?!?!?

Genetic Testing was suggested by my oncologist today. I started with a new oncologist, as my other one has gone on maternity leave. My new oncologist is Dr. Karen Glemon, a leading physician in the field of Breast Cancer oncology in Canada and the world. The Dr. I was meeting with for the past 7 months was is a part of her team and she has had a hand in my care since I started. She said some encouraging things to me today, she said I looked healthy and told me that my blood counts were that of someone who hasn’t had any treatment. She also told me that I was beautiful with or without hair. She has known me for several years, through the breast cancer foundation we shared the podium many tines. It was great to get a hug from her and to feel like I was in such good hands.
She suggested to me today that I might have genetic testing done in the new year. Apparently there is a gene, that obviously I’ve never heard of, that causes young people to get sarcoma and carcinoma cancers, which are the two kinds that I’ve had. She’d like to have me tested for it in the new year but it’s up to me. Right away I said I’d want it done, then I thought about it some more. Do I want to know if I have a gene for cancer that may plague me with tumors for the rest of my life? Do I want to live knowing another cancer is looming around the corner? Do I want to beat this one just to feel defeated knowing it’s just a matter of time before it happens again? The answer to all of those questions, I decided was YES! If I am prone to getting cancer because if my genetics I want to know! I want to do everything I can to give my body a fighting chance at finding and detecting such cancers sooner. I know that almost all cancers if found soon enough can be beaten, I’ve experienced it once and I believe I will again! If I found I had this gene it could be used against me in getting a larger life insurance policy, but in my current circumstances I won’t ever be eligible for more life insurance anyway. I figure if they find out I do have the gene I’ll be watched like a hawk and more medical testing will become more readily available to me, like PET Scans and MRI’s. Having said that I guess I hope that I don’t have the gene and that when this is over, I can put it more behind me. But to be honest, I lived the last 12 years knowing that once you’ve had cancer it’s basically impossible to put it behind you most of the time anyway. So if there’s something to know, I want to know it! Knowledge is power! I’ve said it so many times when speaking and it’s so true. Knowledge is power.
The Dr. said if I don’t have the gene, it could just be related to something my breasts were exposed to while in my teens and my breast were developing. The only thing that I can remember them being exposed to on a regular basis were bust expanding exercises, “I must, I must, I must…increase my bust!” Remember Ladies! If every girl who ever wished for larger breasts got breast cancer, I think we’d have many more cases of breast cancer on our hands!!