A Pivotal Point in the Family

This isn’t going to be a feel good story we aren’t there yet. This story will however be filled with emotional ups and downs. The day was August 10th, that’s when we found out that my mom had Triple Negative breast cancer and the journey has just started for her. I’m using this semester to master as much as I can in the knowledge of breast cancer and it’s out come in women. I started by asking my mom some questions.

When I asked my mom about her family history with breast cancer she told me that 4 people in her family have had breast cancer, “My mom passed away at the age of 40, my uncle at the age of 44, and I have two aunts, one that had it and beat it and one that is still fighting it.” While telling me this she looked at me and told me “you have to get a genetic test done.” A genetic test is a type of medical test that identifies changes in chromosomes, genes or proteins. The results of a genetic test can confirm or rule out a suspected genetic condition or help determine a person’s chance of developing or passing on a genetic disorder.

About 1 in 8 women in the U.S. are diagnosed with invasive breast cancer each year. It is estimated that this year alone 246,660 new cases are expected to be diagnosed in women in the U.S., and 2,600 new cases in men. About 40,450 women in the U.S. died from breast cancer in 2015. For women in the U.S., breast cancer death rates are higher than those for any other cancer, besides lung cancer.

There are plenty of cancers out there, and plenty of diseases that a person can become diagnosed with, but for my family it is breast cancer. Join me on this journey to better understand what my mom is going to go through.

All the best,

SG