Comments on: On Genes, Tests, and Carmen Electra’s Breasts

By: tray622

tray622 — Sat, 13 Oct 2007 16:29:06 +0000

Thank you for sharing your story Phen. There is so much women don’t know about their own health and knowledge is definitely power in a lot of cases.

I teach with a dear friend who is a breast cancer survivor and it is so important to be spreading information.

Thank you!

By: lovin'it

lovin'it — Thu, 11 Oct 2007 22:21:20 +0000

Great Post! My mother was the first female to have and die of breast cancer in my family. It all happened when she was 23. I have had mammograms since the age of 16!

By: Kelly

Kelly — Thu, 11 Oct 2007 20:24:56 +0000

Thank you for writing this.

My mother was diagnosed ‘out of the blue’, at age 58, with breast cancer a year ago April. She had no known female relatives who had had breast cancer. On my 35th birthday, I plan on having my first baseline mammogram, and then religiously doing it as often as my insurance will pay for.

By: Kim

Kim — Thu, 11 Oct 2007 12:38:58 +0000

Great post, Phen. I actually jumped ahead and went to a genetic counselor before any diagnosis since there is a strong history but opted to not do the testing. First, there’s no way the only surviving person with breast cancer would take the test (which I was told was the best indicator). Second, without having it, I’m afraid what it would mean for insurance (there’s nothing really saying they can discriminate based on the findings, but there’s nothing written in stone yet saying they can’t). We also don’t plan on having children and I’m an only child. It also isn’t, as you state above, a definite indicator if you test negative.

In my situation it didn’t make sense, in yours it definitely did. I opted to go to the Duke Breast Health clinic where we have all the best early detection techniques, many of which won’t be covered by insurance. Maybe one day I’ll do the testing, if and when it makes sense and when the laws keep up with the science.