The first bit of news I wake up to today is about Angelina Jolie's preventive double mastectomy.... wow....
Well, good for her. I'm glad she's taking a proactive approach and I'm sure her coming forward with this news will prompt other people to get their genes tested for cancer too.
So far my family has only ever suffered from smaller health issues, such as migraines and urinary infections, but my husband's side has had quite a few people pass away from cancer: his father from stomach cancer, his aunt from thyroid cancer, and a cousin from leukemia. Those are just the people in his family that we know of who were officially diagnosed with cancer, as of course there is no knowing what illnesses our Hmong ancestors suffered from while living in remote, agricultural Laos. They didn't have doctors, clinics, tests, etc. Our family's medical history beyond our time in the United States, beyond our parents' generation, is pretty much non-existent.
One of my biggest fears in life is that my husband or my kids will be hit with cancer. I worry about it probably more than I need to, but it's hard not to think about it.
Does gene testing cover other types of cancer also? Something to look into...
5 comments:
she is a great role model and inspiration. knowing that she does have such a high publicity and using it to get these types of message out in the open really says a lot.
Hi derp,
Yeah, I agree. She's one of the celebrities that I think genuinely wants to help people.
How have you been? Haven't chatted with you in awhile. Hope all's well!
I don't neccessarily agree with her decision but its her body and her personal choice. Having this mutation doesn't mean you are going to get breast cancer, or does removing the breast means you will no longer get breast cancer due to the fact not all the tissue can be removed.
I hope women all over do not think this is the solution to avoid breast cancer. 1. This procedure is expensive, 2. Health insurance will not cover a preemptive strike on cancer. lol. Majority of women will be priced out of this procedure. So to have women associate this as a preventative procedure does a disservice.
The cancer rate has been rising so fast that we can't attribute this to our genetics. Its our environment and that is what I wished she could have focused on. Right now we don't even know what's in our food. Canada can no longer grow organic corn, soy, canola, because its all been tainted with GMO's and its irreversible. Soon the US will no longer be able to grow Non GMO if we keep this up. This is what we feed to our children and what we feed to the animals that we feed our children. You buy a hamburger at Mcdonalds and you get a patty that has anti-caking agents, fillers etc.. because it wouldn't look pretty without it.
At this rate in a few decades i wouldn't be surprised if the questions we asked went from if we will get cancer to when we will get it. Ok, I'll stop here before I start sounding like an environmentalist. :)
RedPickle, yeah, you bring up some good points, especially about the expense of the procedure and health insurance not necessarily covering it. But for me, having experienced multiple people in my life suffer and die from cancer, it's certainly not an option I would rule out.
I guess when I think about, I spent 2 years helping to care for my bedridden father-in-law while he slowly withered away from stomach cancer, and I don't want to ever go through that again. I would exchange any amount of money I have to avoid something like that and to still have him here with us today. I don't want to ever have regrets again, thinking, "What if we had done that procedure? What if it could've saved his life?" The what-ifs that come later when everything is said and done can be the toughest to live with.
About the GMO, I totally agree with you. I would have to say that I'm starting to see more people talk about it, but there are still a lot who have no idea what GMO foods are and how it impacts them.
Cancer is the most dangerous disease and seems to have no cure in most of the cases. So the disease should be treated early to save life. On the other hand, to save the smile, any dental problem should be treated well. We must take care of our teeth and Proper dental plans can reduce the cost of treatment while consulting the dentists.
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