That tricky gene

On a routine visit to my gynecologist, he asks if I have had gene testing done. It's not something that I take lightly - I suspect we do carry the BRCA-1 gene. To do the test, I will have to fly to Miami and undergo genetic counselling. It sounds trivial to say that so many other things seem like a priority at the moment. That is until I came across this article about the first baby that will be born free of this gene.

U.K. woman conceives breast cancer gene-free baby
Updated Mon. Jun. 30 2008 11:22 PM ET

CTV.ca News Staff

A British woman is 14 weeks pregnant after conceiving the country's first baby guaranteed to be free of a hereditary breast cancer, doctors have revealed.

The unidentified woman and her husband underwent in vitro fertilization to screen 11 embryos for the presence of one gene, BRCA-1.

The woman is now 14 weeks pregnant with her first child.

Women who carry either the BRCA-1 or BRCA-2 gene have a 50 to 80 percent chance of developing breast cancer.

The 27-year-old woman and her 28-year-old husband, who remain anonymous, decided to go through the invasive in vitro fertilization procedure in order to produce embryos that could be genetically screened.

I will have this test done. If not for myself, then for my daughter. She is not physically like me and I pray that she's won the genetic lottery in this case. But unless I test, we'll never know if she potentially carries the gene as well. Even if I am negative, it is something that I will encourage her to be aware of with regard to her own health as an adult.

I'm filling my bra with hope

I would run to the moon just to see my mother one more time.

Things I've Found in Pockets: in honour of hangy-down boobies

Things I've Found in Pockets: in honour of hangy-down boobies

Sometimes it's nice to be reminded of what really defines beautiful boobs. The post above is from Nan who managed to say some of the nicest things I've ever heard about our boobs.
Let's take back our breasts whatever form they may take.

Bisphenol and Breast Cancer

If you are like me, bisphenol is not a word that is part of my daily lexicon. I had never even heard of it. But it's all around us. And it's ironic that the more advanced we become is the more cloudy the picture gets-
Bisphenol A (BPA) is a high production volume chemical used in the production of polycarbonate plastic and several types of resins. Polycarbonate plastics are widely used in a variety of products including food and drink containers, CDs, DVDs, electrical and electronic equipment, automobiles, sports safety equipment.
Resins are used as a protective lining in metal food and drink containers and water supply pipes. In vitro and animal data indicate that BPA may mimic the natural female sex hormone, estradiol. Exposure to the general population can occur through direct contact to BPA or by exposure to food or drink that has been in contact with material containing BPA.
We have been hearing the rumours for a few years now but suddenly there has been a rash of new articles popping up that validate these nebulous rumours about drinking from water bottles left in hot cars and heating plastics in the microwave.
Plastic Bottles Release Potentially Harmful Chemicals (Bisphenol A) After Contact With Hot Liquids
ScienceDaily (Feb. 4, 2008) — When it comes to Bisphenol A (BPA) exposure from polycarbonate plastic bottles, it's not whether the container is new or old but the liquid's temperature that has the most impact on how much BPA is released, according to University of Cincinnati (UC) scientists.
Scott Belcher, PhD, and his team found when the same new and used polycarbonate drinking bottles were exposed to boiling hot water, BPA, an environmental estrogen, was released 55 times more rapidly than before exposure to hot water.
"Previous studies have shown that if you repeatedly scrub, dish-wash and boil polycarbonate baby bottles, they release BPA. That tells us that BPA can migrate from various polycarbonate plastics," explains Belcher, UC associate professor of pharmacology and cell biophysics and corresponding study author. "But we wanted to know if 'normal' use caused increased release from something that we all use, and to identify what was the most important factor that impacts release."
It would make sense. For us in the tropics- this is even more critical because so many of us are dependent on water that sits baking in black plastic tanks before coming into our taps and then into plastic bottles in the fridge. If you drink bottled water, who's to say that the cases of water don't sit on the delivery truck in scorching temeperatures before getting to you. I also drink gallons of diet coke, so let's not even go down the aspartame road. Damned if you do and damned if you don't.
Anyway it's worth keeping an eye on it- especially for our young girls- the water bottle has become a fashion statement- I agree, this seems like a ridiculous statement but in the bizarre way of trends- the carrying of a water bottle has become a symbol of the young, educated and helath conscious female. It's all tied in with clever marketing of purity concepts, and yoga and living clean- hence it will be an enormous feat to reverse this public perception and have people give up their water bottles. And is there enough proof?
If you have daughters, err on the side of caution and let's see if we can make the thermos a hip accessory. Or go back to the days when tap was fine.
I am now curious about things like half life and wonder how long BPA will stay in your body once exposed?
On another note, my Mama's birthday would have been on Wednesday- she would have turned 67.

My Friend Laura

I went to school with Laura and we grew up in the same neighbourhood. I have known her most of my life. She was recently diganosed with breast cancer and has been an amazing patient- she is also one of the funkiest looking bald chicks that I know-
I'm hoping that she will pop up on this blog soon but in the interim- this is a book that she has recommended-Crazy Sexy Cancer Tips by Kris Carr Click to check out the webpage
Crazy Sexy Cancer Tips by Kris Carr is available on Amazon. It's not the book that she is holding in her hand. I'm sure that one is great too.
Product Description
Actress and photographer Kris Carr thought she had a hangover, but a Jivamukti yoga class didn’t provide its usual kick-ass cure. A visit to her doctor confirmed her “liver looked like Swiss cheese,” covered with cancerous tumors. She entered trench warfare (wearing cowboy boots into the MRI machine, no less), vowing, “Cancer needed a makeover and I was just the gal to do it!” She began writing and filming her journey, documenting her interactions with friends, doctors, alternative “quacks,” blind dates, and other women with cancer—sadly a growing group. These include hip, young women such as illustrator-author Marisa Acocella Marchetto (Cancer Vixen), Glamour writer-editor Erin Zammett (My So-Called Normal Life), MTV personality Diem Brown (Real World/Road Rules Challenge), model Sharon Blynn (founder, Bald Is Beautiful), and music manager Jackie Farry, among others.

The Learning Channel broadcast the premiere of Carr’s unforgettable documentary, Crazy Sexy Cancer on August 29, 2007.CRAZY SEXY CANCER TIPS gathers the lessons learned and advice offered from Carr’s own journey, as well as the experiences of her cancer posse. Full-color photos accompany personal stories and candid revelations in this scrapbook of advice, warnings, and resources for the cancer patient. Chapters cover your changing social life, dating, sex, and appearance; essential health tips on how to boost your immune system; recipes; medical and holistic resources; and information on young survivor support groups. The resulting book is a warm, yet informative tool for any woman newly diagnosed with the disease and for those who love them.

Ultrasound and Mammogram

I had both a mammogram and an ultrasound this year. Why? Because I have such a strong family history, I am considered high risk- first (and only) baby after 30, limited breast feeding, apple shape, meat lover, family history......I hit all the check boxes. So I am a little extra careful. A recent study by JAMA cited that this combination was superior to conventional mammography in detecting lesions- the only problem is that it also substantially increases the risk of false positives. I'll take my chances with a false positive if it comes down to that but the risk of missing an early change is too great for me.
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Adding screening ultrasonography to conventional breast mammography increases the diagnostic yield by about 50% among women at high risk for breast cancer, according to study findings published in the Journal of the American Medical Association for May 14. However, the combined strategy also substantially increases the number of false positives. Click on text to go to the whole article.

Breast cancer is highly treatable if it is caught early.

Anyone can get Breast Cancer- Great Video