Would you want to know?

Anyone who knows me will tell you I am not a Hollywood groupie. This morning I heard Angelina Jolie underwent a double mastectomy because she tested positive for a specific gene (BRCA). This makes her 87% more likely to develop an aggressive strain of breast cancer as well as ovarian cancer, both very serious business. She did this in consideration of her kids, a reason I certainly respect.

My sister and cousin are both breast cancer survivors. My sister tested positive for the BRCA gene and opted for an aggressive treatment regimen. That begged the questions of my siblings and me; do we carry this same gene, what do we tell our daughters and sons, do we WANT to know?

Most members of my family considered me selfish for wanting to know. I heard ‘It was against God’s will’, ‘how can I put that stress on my kids’, ‘oh my God I’m too afraid to know’… On and on it went! Ask me, its mind blowing how far we've come in the fight against cancer! My sister supported my decision.

In the end it’s my (and the insurance company’s!) decision. In this respect, knowledge is power and that knowledge isn't cheap. That’s a discussion for another day. In the meantime, thanks to my sister for taking me to the New York football Giants Game every October to the Breast Cancer Survivors Day Game!