Survival Seeds

Wednesday, March 18, 2009

"The Girls" and what us girls do for them!!!

I know that this may be a weird post for the guys out there reading this but they need to know what is going on and understand the information too. I posted about why breast health was such a big issue to me in October of last year. You may want to check it out and see the back story to this and it will be a little clearer.

Most of us girls know that we have breasts and they are there, can get in the way but don't think much otherwise about them. I am one who is thinking about them constantly. Some of us want bigger, some want smaller, some just think they get in the way and others love them and show thier "assets" off all the time! All of us girls have "the girls" and they are dealt with on a daily basis - whether we like it or not! OK, now on with today's stuff.....

Today I went for a six month check up with Dr. LaNette Smith in Tulsa. She is a breast doctor and in September they did ultrasound in her office after the exam and then sent me over to the radiology where they did a mammogram and more ultrasounds... Everything looked okay and she wants to see me every six months. Today she brought up that she really wanted me to do genetic testing since I have lost my mother, grandmother and an aunt who have had breast cancer and they were all on my mom's side. The is also wanting me to have an MRI done. She said that the digital mammogram was OK but an MRI would really let them see more and see better. They are going to check with the insurance on the MRI and I am trying to decide on the testing. They have passed a law that insurance companies can't deny me coverage because of the genetic testing but I am still worried about it.

I also started asking her about prophylactic mastectomy's. How often did they do them, the success rate and all that stuff. She said that if I am shown to have the BRCA 1 or BRCA 2 gene that the likelihood of breast cancer raises from 10% to 85%. If a prophylactic mastectomy is done the risk is lowered by 90% which is approximately the same for someone without a family history. So we are looking at all the options and looking at what we think is best to do. The MRI will be the first hurdle and seeing if we can get the insurance to cover it. I am double covered so hopefully they will both agree and I can get it done! So once we clear the first hurdle we will look at the next one!!!

Has anyone out there had this issue come up, had the testing done or heard anything else about it? I would love some more input from others on this subject!

And also I went yesterday to the doctor and I have lost 14 pounds!!! This is also one of the things that I am doing to lower my risk as well as exercising more and cutting down on the fat.... Not fun but needed! So I am hoping to continue losing this next month!!! I will keep you updated!

3 comments:

Rachel said...

I think your posts is GREAT! You are right...the "girls" are something we deal with daily! Yes.. they are in the way, yet i find myself thinking I want them bigger?? You are so right! So happy you had a good check-up,WTG on the weight-loss adn taking care of yor body! You should be proud!

Deer Passion said...

Yeah, the girls are an important part of everyone's life, besides just being an "asset." My mother dealt with breast cancer a few years ago, and my grandmother also had it. I was tested for both genes and found that I have neither. Which is a relief! I would highly recommend getting the tests done and taking care of things beforehand to help decrease life-threatening circumstances. I hope everyone remembers that breast cancer does not just affect women, but men too! It's just as important to keep them informed too.

Anonymous said...

You are right, the girls need our attention. My mother had a breast cancer scare last year. They caught it ridiculously early, but to her, it was traumatic. And right on the high risk list I get to go. Granddad had prostate cancer, so I should have been on that list anyway.
Get done what ever you need.