As my sister and I have gotten older, it has been interesting to see the family genes and dynamics take shape. For years we have joked that my sister is just like my mom. While I am a spitting image of my mother (as you can see in the picture to the left with my mom and my two kids at Yellowstone), and my sister, our dad, biologically my sister seemed to have inherited more of my mother's side. That is until a couple of months ago when I received a breast cancer diagnosis at 39 just as my mother did at 36. The diagnosis, although it still came as a shock, didn't rock me to my core because I have a living example that cancer doesn't have to mean a death sentence. I have watched my mother victoriously battle this disease since I was eight years old and I have seen that it can be overcome. So I'm not scared. Right now I am just focused on treatment and now taking the advice that we have been writing about for years now. Thankfully, because of my mother's history, I have been going in fairly regularly for my mammograms and it appears we caught this early. Interestingly, our last post, "Lumpectomy-A wiser option?" is what I just had a few days ago and I will start radiation treatment as soon as I have healed enough to begin the next phase of treatment. It was a tough decision to decide between a mastectomy or lumpectomy with radiation. But ultimately, I took my mother's oncologist's advice (after all he has kept my mother around for all these years against what seemed like insurmountable odds :), and opted for the lumpectomy. I understand that so much is out of my control, so I have been praying, giving thanks to God for catching this, praying over my doctors, praying that by Jesus' stripes I am healed. I am claiming it, and I believe it. I believe this and pray this for all of our readers as well. I would like to urge other women out there with a family history to stay on top of their screenings. Interestingly, both my sister and I tested negative for the BRCA gene. So please stay on top of your mammograms. A family history of breast cancer is not something to sweep under the rug. Take your health seriously and stay on top of your mammograms. It just might save your life.
Wishing you all health and happiness.
