Remember this: Body image is not everything. Having a part of your body removed or excised doesn't make you any less than the person you were before it happened. You are still you.
Today I took a trip to the OB-GYN for a yearly check-up. Prior to examination, my doctor told me about this new study to test for hereditatry breast and ovarian cancer and genetic counseling. She suggested I get this test for BRCA1 and BRCA2
BRCA1 and BRCA2 are referred to as breast cancer 1 and 2. These are genes that can mutate and alter to increase your risk of forming breast or ovarian cancer. The BRCA can be passed down through your family.
I was fortunate enough to be offered this service through a clinical study. My understanding is you have to have at least two or three relatives that are postive for breast cancer. I figured if using me for a lab rat could help someone, then why not?
My pamphlet did indicate if you were of Ashkenazi Jewish heritage you have a higher risk of carrying a BRCA mutation. I have seen this lineage noted in the Genographic Project but there are probably other places to test your DNA. The frequency of this risk is 1 in 40.
The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecology and The National Comprehensive Cancer Network support this testing in high risk or strong family history to breast or ovarian cancer.
This is not limited to females but also branches out to males. Men, you are not immune.
BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutations can be passed down from mother or father. This is done in autosomal dominant fashion, which means that having one copy of an altered BRCA1 and BRCA2 gene increases your chance of developing certain cancers.
This test was to see if I carried the mutated gene. The technician pulled my blood and I filled out the forms. I just have to wait for my results.
If the test is positive that means I inherited the BRCA mutated gene and have an increased risk to form the disease. It doesn't indicate I have developed cancer.
If the test is negative the results means my chances of carrying the BRCA mutation has been greatly reduced but not completely eliminated.
There are uncertain results to these tests.
The present options are to increase cancer screenings, proactive prophylactic surgery, drug therapy, and evaluating your family members for this mutation.
You are then referred to a genetic counselor to discuss your risk for hereditary breast and ovarian cancer. After this counseling, I suggest getting more informed and not making a decision out of panic.
I was looking at the chart that indicates male breast cancer, prostate, and pancreatic cancers.
I then thought of my personal experience with breast cancer. I have not been diagnosed but know of people who have and elected to do the proactive surgery. There was a lot of terror involved on their part. After this person had the procedure, she is living life just as she did before, minus the boob. She hasn't thought to get a replacement boob. It does still bother her from time to time. She thinks no one will love her because she is missing a breast. She did tell me she was taunted by a man she was in a relationship with, that told her she was half a woman because she had a hysterectomy and her breast removed. Because she didn't have a uterus and one breast, she wasn't a whole woman. I told her to call that man and thank him for helping her make the decision to dump him. It wouldn't matter to the person or family, if they loved her. Yet I say that and there are men who would not find a single boobed woman or a woman with both boobs gone attractive. It happens. Being mad at these kinds of people for that idea is a waste of time.
Yet there are women who overcome. They overcome adversity and having a procedure to go on and live a full life. They are alive and happy. So what if they have a scar?
Then you have those rare men that just care about the woman and not about the loss of body parts. The woman worries more about it than her man does.
There are women that do have a rigid body image of being a whole woman. That body image is challenged when some part of their anatomy is excised or removed. As always with this elected surgeries there are psychological issues that go neglect while the physical ailments are resolved. I suggest to people to find a support group of people that understand this facet of the treatment. You can have empathy but never know the degree to which a person suffers.
What does this have to do with hunting? If I can use hunting as a platform to encourage women and men to get in the doctor's office and be tested to indicate if they have a potentially genetic inherited disease, then why not?
This is an issue that occurs in hunting participants lives. When you look at the rate only the beautiful people are promoted in the hunting sport in advertisements or the good ole boys regardless of gutline, you could see where on or our fellow hunting participants might have a problem feeling inadequate to some degree. People carry a certain amount of body image and then you have the problem of vanity. There are people that base their whole identity around their outer shell. When that outer shell starts to fall to rack and ruin, you then find the people that truly cared for you in the first place. I've seen my fair share of people dying and they don't care about beauty in the end. They just want to live.
Working from your center and knowing who you are is a good way to tackle these issues. You can be strong enough for yourself if no one is there. You can face a problem with a positive mind and overcome it. If you find that you are to far gone, you can always proceed with honor and grace. You don't have to ball up and die.
You have hunting participants with mothers, daughters, brothers, fathers, aunts, uncles, and cousins. All of these people have the potential to carry these mutated genes. If you could spare someone an ounce of suffering by finding this out and approaching this problem with a support group of family and friends, then do so. If you want them around for years to come to go hunting, fishing, or camping with; get yourself tested.
I guess I could have talked about fish hooks, buck horns, some new gadgetry, or another non-relevant issue but this is important. This is as important as getting checked for diabetes, congestive heart failure, or another other disease that could cause you to lose quality of life or dignity. People give their dignity away all the time, if they have any. Others slowly lose to a health problem.
You might want to see your grandkids being born or go climb to the top of that mountain. You might want to become a last minute explorer or find the person you dreamed you would meet and marry. You never know. Life is short and disease waits for no man. You can't lay down longterm in a bed crying about it either. Eventually you have to get up and do something about it. Do something before the eleventh hour.
Get tested and live.
Written by: W Harley Bloodworth
~Courtesy of the AOFH~
