I came across this photo the other day in my family photo album. Pictured are my dad's sister, mother and maternal grandmother. I never expected to have such a bond with these three women whom I never met. The baby, my aunt, passed away just months after I was born, at the age of 41. The other two each lived to the age of 56, which for the grandma was just a few months after this picture was taken.
I didn't even know I was at a higher risk for breast cancer. There was no caption for this photo that read, "each of these women died an early death and you could also". Now we know. Now we have DNA testing. Now my daughters can be on the lookout. They can have the blood test to determine if they too carry the mutant gene, and if so they can take precautions. And maybe when they are my age there will be a cure.
2 comments:
Hey T,
Wow, what an amazing story about your first daughter! Remind me to tell you mine the next time we are together.
You mentioned that your daughters can get tested--does this mean that you are in contact with your first girl? It would sure be great if you could let her know about the cancer gene.
I'm not in contact with her. I'd always figured I'd let her persue finding me when she was ready. But now with this genetic glitch, I do need to (and will) get word to her through the adoption agency. I assume they have a means to do that. I have also registered with a couple well-known reunion services, to make it easier if she does want to meet.
Post a Comment