A woman 35 years old, lost her mom and 2 sisters to breast cancer. During a new genetic testing technique she was discovered to posses the same gene that causes the desease, which puts her in high risk category. Though she showed no signs of the actual desease she opted to surgically remove BOTH breast.

Would you do it?

If you are found to be genetically at high risk for ovarian cancer, breast cancer or (for men) prostate cancer, would you undergo surgery to remove the potentially affected organ EVEN THOUGH YOU SHOW NO SIGN OF THE DISEASE?

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"In this great future, you can't forget your past. " Bob Marley (1945 - 1981)

I would take my chances and wait. If I develop the cancer I'll have to get them removed anyways so why not wait? I would just make sure I'm on a strict and regiment screening program for the rest of my life. It IS possible to catch it in early stages by being vigilant.

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NO I wouldn't either unless and until I knew there was a real problem.

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Welcome to Cougarville....

I'm really not sure until I'm faced with it.

My mother died of Inflammatory Breast Cancer which is a rare aggressive form of breast cancer - one which is random not hereditary. However my sister a couple of years ago was found to have a pre-cancerous breast condition called ADH - that isn't hereditary either. However its very worrying and she immediately asked to have both removed. The gene investigators spent 2 years looking into our family history which also contains ovarian cancer which is a double whammy. However they wont take it into account because you have to have a living relative with the disease to be considered. They dont count your dead relatives.

My sis has no doubt, she wants them off. We watched my mother die in a terrible way and no-one wants to die that way. However if I'm faced with losing my beautiful bouncing babies - I just dont know.

That is such a hard question. I work on a cancer ward so I know without a doubt...I never want to go through that. You can have your breasts removed and implants put in...you don't nessessarily have to be breastless by getting them removed.


I don't know that I would jump the gun at the possibility...however I see far to many families where the genes seem to often take hold of the next generations and like mother and daughter and daughter after that...breast cancer hits them all.

Its a nasty nasty cancer to deal with, and I see far to many people have all sorts of complications during cancer related surgeries.

So I'm fifty fifty on that one. I'm leaning towards both options!!

I would wait and see.

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Life's just a crazy ride on a run away train
You can't go back for what you've missed
So make it count, hold on tight find a way to make it right
You only get one trip
So make it good, make it last 'cause it all flies by so fast
You only get one trip

I think Alex must have watched Oprah the other day Christina Applegate was on it and she made the decision to have both hers removed because it runs in her family. Fine for her though, she can afford to get the best replacements on the market.

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A guy in my office has an inoperable aggressive cancer (I don't know where)

He has had treatment (dunno what) but most of his hair fell out and the rest is all grey.

He insists on working as though things are normal and he wants to be treated normally, so not many people know what's up.

Yesterday he was standing in the hall outside my office and I could see the pain in his face as he grabbed the back of his head and swayed. I thought he was about to keel over right then and there.....it sucked big time.

Ugh that is sad Tanya.

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i watched this the other day. so sad to have to make that kind of decision.

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Sorry baby,
I don't watch Oprah and wouldn't, even if she pays me to.

My ex SO, worked in a Breast Cancer Research Institution, she brought a lot of her work home and I was her sounding board when she studied for her research certifications.

Also, I had to do a crash course in genetics when I worked on a biomedical engineering project., a while back.
Mi noh as dumb as mi look,yu know.

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"In this great future, you can't forget your past. " Bob Marley (1945 - 1981)

Weird coincidence then, the timing of you mentioning this.

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Hmmm Let see...
Maybe she was talking to me today and telling me of a case that she is currenty handling????

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"In this great future, you can't forget your past. " Bob Marley (1945 - 1981)