For Cancer Previvor Surgery Means Not Having to Worry скачать в хорошем качестве

For Cancer Previvor Surgery Means Not Having to Worry

[Transcript] (gentle music) [Leah Goldglantz, cancer previvor, Lynn Cancer Institute] [Leah] My name is Leah Goldglantz, I live in Boca Raton, Florida, and I am a full-time health blogger. [Images from Leah’s blog page called Leah’s Plate and photos of Leah and her husband and daughters] [Leah] My maternal grandmother had both breast and ovarian cancer, which was what led me to get tested to see if I have the BRCA gene. I had a strong feeling that I carried this gene because so many people in my family do, so I really wasn't that surprised. But it was obviously very, very upsetting. And I was a little anxious about what my next step should be. [Aerial video of Lynn Cancer Institute] [Louise Morrell, M.D. medical director of Lynn Cancer Institute at Boca Raton Regional Hospital] [Dr. Morrell] We've really designed our cancer risk assessment and genetic testing program around the notion that we want to make sure that the patient has access to the testing, has access to the information, can get family members tested, and can be followed. It's really a patient-centered approach that understands the implications of the test lifelong. [Leah] She spent so much time with me on our first visit. I've never had a doctor in my life spend over an hour with me just talking, which was really incredible. And she armed me with all of the information I need. She gave me all of the facts, all of the statistics, and really, really helped guide me in what I should do. [Dr. Morrell] So, she had a BRCA1 mutation and we know a lot about it. There's a risk for a woman of breast cancer that's very high, up to a lifetime risk over 85%. And there's a risk of ovarian cancer, which also can be quite high, up to 40%. [Leah] It sounded like the thing to do first, at the time I was 32 years old, would be to get the mastectomy, that my risk for ovarian cancer really didn't go up that high until I was close to 40. She made me very calm about it. I was still breastfeeding, and she told me, "Enjoy breastfeeding your baby. Breastfeed for as long as you want. And when you're done, let's talk about getting a mastectomy." [Dr. Morrell] I think she felt very reassured by the discussion that she could get on a pathway that would allow her to accomplish her goal of breastfeeding, but also be protected. The term previvor allows us to identify the action that you can take before you actually get diagnosed with a cancer. What are the things that you could do that prevents you from ever having to be a survivor and to go through those steps? And these are the kinds of things, this kind of genetic testing and putting together a plan, that allows you to actually be a previvor and never have to say, oh, I'm a survivor. [Photos of Leah, her husband and her two young daughters] [Leah] What this surgery symbolizes for me, I was worried that my life could potentially be cut short. And when you have two young children, there's nothing more terrible than that thought. So it's been 11 months and I feel really great. I forget that this even happened 'cause I feel so normal. [Dr. Morrell] The testing has become easier. It's become substantially more affordable. It's become more inclusive of more genes than it was ever done before. [Leah] I think knowledge is power. And I believe there's no downside to getting the test because just because you find out that you have this gene, doesn't mean that you have to get an mastectomy. It's what's recommended, but your health is still in your own hands. And I think that you should at least have that information and decide what you wanna do with that information. But I know personally that having the double mastectomy and never having to worry about that again, there's just nothing better than that, so I'm really glad that I did it. [Baptist Health logo] [Lynn Cancer Institute, Baptist Health South Florida] [end of transcript]