The Curse of that Reproductive Cancer Gene

Our family had seen  many female relatives die of reproductive cancers. My mother had a string of aunties who died of cancer and her own sister, my auntie died in our home of ovarian cancer, aged 52;  Both of her daughters are among six of my cousins diagnosed with cancer, three of whom died.

It wasn’t until a cousin, six months older  than me, became terminally ill with ovarian cancer that she begged us all to go and be tested for the BRCA1 gene, which she had. We discovered that the gene runs like a poisonous dart through my mother’s bloodline and of the 11 girls born to mum and her four siblings, seven have the BRCA1 gene.  Of these, six have had reproductive cancers, three of whom have died relatively young.   My sixth  cousin, 18 months younger than me,  found through the genetic process that she had early stages ovarian cancer, which was successfully treated and the  seventh cousin with the faulty gene, aged in her low 50s, had a double mastectomy and a hysterectomy.   My sister and I do not have the gene, nor do two other cousins.  To me, having this faulty gene means breast cancer is almost inevitable. Ovarian cancer has a 50 per cent risk so no wonder Angelina is going to have her ovaries removed too.

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1 Comment to “The Curse of that Reproductive Cancer Gene”

  1. By Dominique, 03/06/2013 @ 10:17 pm

    For a more comprehensive and precise explanation follow this link http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BRCA1.
    The cancer danger comes from BRCA1 mutations not from BRCA itself that quite useful to the body.

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