The BRCA Gene....Cancer Anyone???

Unspeakable Speaks.....

Cancer Anyone???
Alright, now that I have given you a small taste of where my mind is, it's now time to discuss the details of my diagnosis. Those of you that know me personally or have read the first few posts on this blog are fully aware that my mother was also diagnosed with breast cancer and passed away. What you may not know is that her mother before her was diagnosed with breast cancer and also died. I have several aunts from my maternal side of the family that have been diagnosed and died with ovarian cancer and colon cancer. I have one aunt who remains that was diagnosed with breast cancer at an early stage, but who beat it through mastectomy.My maternal grandfather died from prostate cancer within 6 months of my mother and aunt. Needless to say, Cancer has had it's reign in my family life for quite some time. Once I was diagnosed, I was determined to put a stop to this generational curse through prayer, education, and preventative procedures. In doing so, I was encouraged by my oncologist and surgeon to undergo genetic testing. The genetics test consists of a questionnaire that will target the family health history, origins, and identifies parallels with other BRCA gene carriers. After which your DNA has to be tested either through a blood or saliva test. It sounds more gruesome than it actually is. The process as a whole typically takes about an hour and a half. There are a few genetic tests that the counselors can use and some times these tests are dictated by your insurance. Which brings me to an interesting point..Insurance.....Pay Close Attention to this:It is my recommendation that you get and secure your life insurance policy prior to get this genetic test done, so that you are not red flagged and unable to provide for your family in the event that something happens. If you take this test pre-diagnosis, you will meet great difficulty trying to secure a life insurance policy. However, if you take the test post diagnosis, it becomes another part of the procedure in your health protocol, should you decide to complete it. Make sure that all of your basis are covered, prior to making a move, so that you are not adversely affected.

What is the Cancer Gene??

“BRCA1 and BRCA2 are human genes (inherited factors) that, when working correctly, prevent cells from growing out of control and becoming cancerous. When someone has inherited a mutation in the gene, it doesn’t work correctly. They are then more likely to develop certain types of cancer during their lifetime (mainly breast and ovarian for women, and prostate and breast for men).” You can read more about the BRCA genes by pasting the links below in your browser. The part of the American population that possess this gene, represent approximately 5-6%, and that statistic decreases even further for women of African American decent. So needless to say, it's no joke and something that needs to be handled quickly to ensure that you have the proper care at the proper time.

What was my diagnosis??

My results were the following: After undergoing treatment for the first breast cancer, I had a 30% chance of contracting a secondary breast cancer in the left breast after 3 years. Afterwards, I would then have a 70% chance of contracting ovarian cancer, within 5 years, which would ultimately lead to my demise. In layman's terms...I am dead at age 38 from multiple cancers as a result of having the BRCA gene.

What did I do??

Once it was confirmed that I possessed this gene, it became evident that I needed to educate other members of my family that they needed to look out for the pre-cursors and take their health seriously and get regular checks. I sent them emails informing them and made arrangements for the genetic counselor to be available to discuss the details with them. If you have been tested and confirmed as having the BRCA gene, it is important that you not keep that information to yourself. Protect your family by informing them of the facts and encourage them to seek a professional that can walk them through the process effectively. Personal, I began my quest to "break the mold" that was given to me and dictate to it, God's plan for my life...which simply is, "Life and that more abundantly." I truly believe that, "The number of my days, God will fulfill," however long that may be. In the meantime, I will touch lives, while I am here....the rest is up to God.

Now What???

Having the BRCA gene is not a death sentence!! All it means is that you have to live your life as healthy as possible in mind, body, and spirit. Reality teaches us that you can be physically fit and still die from internal complications. What I realized during this process and what I want you reading this to realize is that what happens to your body is often a manifestation of what is present in your spirit. Sickness manifests only after you have been sick in your mind and spirit and done nothing about it. We all have a predisposition for something, whether it is greed, lust, slothfulness, pride, hatred, alcoholism, addiction, or racism, but it doesn't have to rule our lives. Just imagine the power that you could possess if you ruled it? Imagine.

Interesting reading about the BRCA gene can be found on the following websites: Copy and paste into your browser.

• www.cancer.gov
• http://press.nci.nih.gov/cancertopics/factsheet/Risk/BRCA/print?page=&keyword=#r11
  

Finding Strength in the Storm......The Beginning

True Security...
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Only in growth, reform, and change, paradoxically enough, is true security to be found.
~Anne Morrow Lindbergh~
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Don't fear change, when the thing to really fear is becoming stagnant, and not continuing to grow and develop into all that you can be. Every new experience, whether it be positive or negative, serves to develop deeper understanding, improve our abilities, and mature our character. Embrace the process, and allow it to bring out the best in you...for if instead, you shrink from it, you will only end up spending life in disappointment and unfulfillment.

Unspeakable speaks.......
Prior to being diagnosed with Cancer, I was stagnant. I had no idea where my life was headed, I had a plethora of dreams and visions, but would not stick with the process long enough to see it through. The one thing that I had a strong grasp on was my spirituality and my belief that God could and can do absolutely anything. I remember doing my devotion one day last year, when I had a divine appointment (a moment when the spirit of God makes my vision crystal clear), and God told me that my life was going to change drastically and to move forward because my heart was pure. I had no idea, that this is what He meant. I was waiting for my business to take off, my knight in shining armor to magically appear and whisk me away, my daughter to have a miraculous love for school, you know the fairytale. Well, clearly judging by the way things turned out, that was not what He meant. What He meant was that, " my life was going to change for the better, through trials, tribulations, sickness and disease, and adversity. It was not going to be easy, but it was going to be what I needed to move past where I was....stagnant." Why, you may ask...."because my heart is pure." God knew that if I was thrust into a situation where my back was against the wall and there was going to be constant uncontrollable change, that I would lean into it, believing in Him. There was never any doubt in my mind, that I was not going to be healed, it was only a matter of time. On "D-Day" (diagnosis day, as most cancer patients call it), I was in Newark, Delaware at Christiana Hospital, when I was met with 8 people that I did not know, ranging from Surgeons to Psychologists, spitting out medical terms that I had never heard before like invasive adenocarcinoma and lymphadenopathy. Alone in that room I was told that I had stage 3 breast cancer and that instead of me planning the next wedding or special event, I would be planning chemotherapy appointments. I had to make a decision at that point, on whether or not I was going to remain stagnant or embrace the process by which my life would be changed beyond recognition from where it once was. What you are reading now is a product of that decision. Your strength can be developed like never before in the midst of the hardest situations. It is the belief that you can win that spurs you into action to pursue the healing and deliverance that you need. Going forward, requires a steady devotion to the fulfillment of your life's purpose, and may require you to face the storm head on and it will be you that decides which way the tide will turn.......what will you do shrink back to mediocrity or rise up to your full potential?? Which ever you choose remember it marks the beginning.




Read this to give you perspective:
THEREFORE LET us go on and get past the elementary stage in the teachings and doctrine of Christ (the Messiah), advancing steadily toward the completeness and perfection that belong to spiritual maturity...For the soil which has drunk the rain that repeatedly falls upon it and produces vegetation useful to those for whose benefit it is cultivated, partakes of a blessing from God. But if [that same soil] persistently bears thorns and thistles, it is considered worthless and near to being cursed, whose end is to be burned. But we do [strongly and earnestly] desire for each of you to show the same diligence and sincerity [all the way through] in realizing and enjoying the full assurance and development of [your] hope until the end, In order that you may not grow disinterested and become [spiritual] sluggards, but imitators, behaving as do those who through faith by their leaning of the entire personality on God in Christ in absolute trust and confidence in His power, wisdom, and goodness) and by practice of patient endurance and waiting are [now] inheriting the promises
~Hebrews 6:1, 7,8,11,12 (Amp)~


The highlighted portions of this post come from a devotional that I receive daily, the author unknown but extremely profound. Enjoy!

Pushing past the pain........

Unspeakable Speaks..........
This upcoming Tuesday will mark two weeks since I had surgery. Although, I meant for this blog to be uplifting, encouraging, and educational for those who may find themselves or their loved ones in a situation similar to this, I find it empowering as well to share with you my physical journey. For the most part, I have always had a high tolerance for pain, preferring to endure rather than to medicate but this is not one of those moments. From the time that I woke up from surgery, I have been in an intense pain that words can not describe. As I showed you in the diagram in the previous post (Circumcision), I had both of my breast removed. The malignant tumors were found in my right breast and in the lymph nodes under the right arm. I had the left breast removed as a precautionary measure due to the fact that I possess the "cancer gene" that could potentially give me a secondary breast cancer, ovarian and uterian cancer. During the mastectomy, my surgeon removed 27 lymph nodes under my right arm (all of which were benign, praise the Lord!!) along with my breasts. Three drains (jackson pratts) have been placed in a slits underneath the surgical site to suction and drain excess fluids and blood to avoid fluid in my lungs. The area previously occupied by my breasts are now just stitches across the chest. The drains are more painful than my chest. I have been prescribed tylenol and percocet to chase away the pain. Well people, it doesn't and if any of you have ever taken pain killers, you know that it just takes the edge off, but never really kills the pain. I have always slept on my sides, so now that I have these new apparatus' attached to me, sleeping has been very difficult. I have gotten so accustomed to taking pain meds that I am popping them like candy. This morning, I was nauseous from taking my medicine in the middle of the night without food. Due to the fact that I am on a narcotic, I am not permitted to drive. So needless to say, I have been enjoying traveling from my bedroom to the living room since I have been able to walk without collapsing. Now to you out there, it sounds terrible, and the truth is ......IT's TERRIBLE!!! I wish I could write you some deep super spiritual thought provoking post, but this has been my reality for the past week. The best part is that earlier this week, while doing my devotion, it was revealed to me that once I see all that is accomplished by my pain, I will be satisfied. After reading that, I thought back to all that has transpired during this journey, the people that have been saved, the relationships that have been healed, the success of the events planned, and the change of heart that I have had. Thinking on all of that makes the pain worth it but what's the most exciting, is that He's not done with me yet. Until He releases me I will continue to push past the the pain to my promise!


Read for yourself: Isaiah 53:10-11
For it was the Lord's good plan to crush him and fill him with grief. Yet when his life is made an offering for sin, he will have a multitude of children, many heirs. He will enjoy a long life, and the Lord's plan will prosper in his hands. When he sees all that is accomplished by his anguish, he will be satisfied......

Heal Yourself.......

"Before healing others, heal yourself"

Author Unknown

Unspeakable speaks........

When I saw this quote, I knew that I had to write about this and I looked all over for a picture that captured the very essence of this statement. I found it. Look at the face of the woman in this picture, she is at peace, and confident in her healing. Today I went for my first week post- operation appointment, to meet up with my surgeon to discuss his findings during surgery. When I walked in to the clinic, I was met by my exercise coordinator, who ran up and gave me a huge hug and said, "wow, you look phenomenal!" As I proceeded to the check-in desk, I was met with my nurse, who came out and gave me a big hug. Still feeling sore, I reached over and accepted the hug, when she whispered in my ear," You are such an inspiration." All through out this process, I have had a variety of people tell me that I inspired them, but this experience was altogether different. When I saw my oncologist and surgeon, both of them were so excited to tell me the news, "You have no more cancer in your body, you are 100% healed of cancer!!" While they were scratching their heads, I was onto the next thing, interceding for those around me. I had already prayed, expected God to heal, praised Him for my healing, received it and moved forward in my healing. When this process first began, I prayed that others would be healed as a result of my experience and that God's name would be glorified. Well look everyone, it has happened, exactly as I prayed it! God heard my prayers and honored them based on my faith. Now that He has brought me through this process, I can trust that He can handle anything in life that I am faced with. The truth of the matter is that my healing was there all along. God provided me with healing power when He died on the cross, it was up to me to apply that power to my life. I'll tell you a secret, I looked up every scripture in the bible about healing and I spent the first month of my diagnosis, allowing that to consume my mind. The irony of it, was that the same scriptures that administered healing in my life from cancer, healed the various "life circumstances" that my friends and family were experiencing. So we all got healed, for the price of one! Understand that there is nothing too hard for God, but He wants to use you to not only heal yourself but others that come into contact with you, for the glory of His name. Heal yourself.....by adopting the word of God as the focal point of your perspective, speaking the word over your life, and expecting your healing by walking in your healing. I was confident that I could heal myself by the power of God, and I was right. I am healed and you can be too, remember whatever situation that threatens your well being is "cancer" waiting to erode you from the inside out. It is up to you to do "self- examinations," and identify the cause and effects of the defeated areas of your life. It is in these areas that you will experience the true power of healing. Heal your relationship with God, your family and friends, your marriage, your finances, your heart, feelings and emotions, your body and yourself......It is this healing power that has the ability to touch the lives of those around you and prepare you for great exploits!

The Circumcision

Unspeakable speaks......
I have been talking about the bilateral mastectomy that took place on Tuesday. Well I decided to take this opportunity to educate those that are not familiar with what a mastectomy looks like. So I have attached a diagram for those of you that are visual. Please review the picture to the left.
The spots indicated by the green are your lymph nodes, and obviously, the pink portion is the breast. This is a simple mastectomy, if you conduct this procedure on the other breast, it would accurately illustrate the procedure that I will underwent earlier this week. I want to make this next point, absolutely clear. "Every breast cancer case is different." If you have friends or family that have breast cancer, based on their situation, they may or may not have to undergo a procedure of this magnitude. But for me it was absolutely necessary.
Because I was diagnosed with stage three (3) breast cancer, which means that the cancer had spread to my lymph nodes, and I was able to physically feel the cancer in my body. It was necessary to do a surgery to remove the lymph nodes that had been previously infected, to eliminate the risk of the cancer spreading to other areas of my body. My decision to remove my breasts was based on several reasons. The first being that it has been discovered that I was born with the "cancer gene"or also known as a BRCA gene (we will get into this more in another post). The second reason, is that based on the fact that I have the "cancer gene," I would be at risk for secondary and third cancers in my breast, ovaries, and uterus, all which will have to be removed within the next year. Thirdly, I don't want to have to revisit this experience ever again.....I know that I said it has been a good experience, in that I have matured through it. But the reality is that this is not an easy experience, and once this is over, I want it to be over!

After my bilateral mastectomy, I will take a few weeks to heal. Next week, I will meet with my surgeon (who is absolutely phenomenal) to get the okay to move forward with radiation. Once I receive the "go ahead" from my surgeon, I will begin radiation for 5-6 weeks to kill off any "deadly cells" that they may have missed in the mastectomy. This will complete the oncology "protocol" that I was given in an effort to heal me from breast cancer.

Solitude

“One can acquire everything in solitude - except character.”
Stendhal


Unspeakable speaks........


Today I spent most of my day in solitude. I woke up and prayed, read the bible, and did the few things that I had on my agenda. From the moment that I turned on the radio, I heard songs about life, healing, joy, and strength. All though I wasn't hearing the audible voice of God speaking to me, His spirit was definitely orchestrating the sound track of my circumstances. I spent the last few hours of my day at my mothers' grave. As I approached the grave site, I found myself at a loss of words. "Why am I here," I thought to myself. The last time that I came to her grave, I was telling her that my fate would not be the same as hers. I told her that my daughter would not experience the same hurt and pain from losing a mother. I thought that I had said all of my goodbyes and I was done with this. So as I looked up into the sky, I belted out and spoke, "Well Mom, it's really about to go down!" "I'm really going to do this Mom," I said, as I shook my head in disbelief that it was even my experience to begin with. I continued to speak to my mothers grave as if she was in her old rocking chair with her raggedy night gown, peering at me with her deep sultry eyes. I told her that this next step is a stretch for me, but for some reason I am confident in God's ability to bring me out victoriously on the other side and not just to "get me through". As I got ready to walk away from my mothers' grave, I told her that I loved her. It was almost like a ton of bricks dropped from my neck. I had not told my mother that I loved her before she died, and for years that had been a weight on me that I could not bear, so I would shut down in depression, every time I thought about it. This was a different experience, this time when I said those words, it was like I became a new and complete person. I had made peace with my past. Now as I moved closer to my "defining moment" I could go forward with a clear conscience and courage to face the unknown future ahead. A peace that I can not describe flowed through me and at that moment I knew that this next phase of my life was going to be "BIG."
There is power in facing those things that have held you back in life. But before you go off "popping your collar" make sure that you consult God on your approach. Sometimes we have to mature in our thinking before we face the "strongholds," that caused the pain. When God puts you in this place, be thankful despite how much it hurts, because He is healing you from within. It's time that we face the source of our pain and not just treat the symptoms that result from it.It was my day in solitude that brought the most healing to my heart. Eliminate all that is distracting you, shut it all down and cease being a slave to your life and listen to the spirit of God as He ministers to you. Stop hiding behind your job, family, ministry, and ambitions and let God direct your paths. It is in this solitude that you will experience the true peace of God as he moves you from slavery to destiny.

If she can, so can I.........my defining moment

Applegate undergoes double mastectomy

Christina Applegate is interviewed by Robin Roberts on ABC's Good Morning America in New York.Photo: Reuters
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August 20, 2008 - 12:50PM
American actor Christina Applegate says she underwent a double mastectomy after being diagnosed with breast cancer.
Applegate, who has now been given the all-clear by doctors, said having the surgery three weeks ago was a tough decision.
But the 36-year-old opted for the drastic procedure rather than having to undergo other longer-term treatments.
"My decision, after looking at all the treatment plans that were possibilities for me, the only one that seemed the most logical and the one that was going to work for me was to have a bilateral mastectomy," Applegate told Good Morning America in an interview aired today.
"I didn't want to go back to the doctors every four months for testing and squishing and everything.
"I just wanted to kind of get rid of this whole thing for me.
"This was the choice that I made and it was a tough one."
Applegate, the star of Samantha Who? which aired in Australia on the Seven Network, says she's now been given a clean bill of health by doctors and will undergo breast reconstruction surgery over the next eight month.
She said the emotional toll has been heavy.
"Sometimes, you know, I cry. And sometimes I scream. And I get really angry. And I get really upset, you know, into wallowing in self-pity sometimes. And I think that it's all part of the healing," she said.
The actor's publicist, Ame Van Iden, announced earlier this month that Applegate was being treated for the disease after it was detected through a doctor-ordered MRI.
"I was so mad," she told GMA about her diagnosis.
"I was just shaking and - and then also immediately, I had to go into ... take-care-of-business-mode, which was ... I asked them, 'What do I do now? What - what is it that I do? I get a doctor, I get a surgeon, I get an oncologist? What do I do?'."
She now follows a healthy diet of fish, grains, beans and vegetables, and avoids processed foods.
The actor, whose mother Nancy Priddy has repeatedly battled breast cancer, said she began getting mammograms at the age of 30.
She is optimistic about her future.
"You know, I really love living and I really love my life. I knew from this moment on, it was only going to be good and that was going to be coming," she said.
"Yeah, I'm going to face challenges, but you can't get any darker than where I've been. So, just knowing that in my soul gave me the strength to just say, 'I've got to - I have to get out there and - and make this positive.
"And you know, I'm going to have cute boobs till I'm 90."

Unspeakable speaks...........

It is so refreshing to hear the stories of others that are faced with similar situations as ours. It is in the testimonies of others that we find the strength to move forward in our own lives and circumstances. When reading this story about Christina Applegate, I saw a lot of myself in her interview. But what caught my attention the most were our differences. At no point during my journey was I angry. There was no "God, why me" syndrome. It is my belief that in all of our lives, we have "defining moments," that usher us into our destiny. These moments are usually hard and marked by insurmountable odds, that stretch us far beyond anything that we have ever experienced before. When this happens, It is counter productive to get angry, why you may ask.............because this is an opportunity to stretch your faith, develop your character, learn how to endure, and to be persistant in achieving your dreams. If you are angry, how can you grasp the lesson that is being taught in the midst of your hardship? Don't get me wrong, it is an extremely hard situation to stomach, when your life is being threatened by a silent killer that snuffed up on you when you weren't looking. But what I want you to realize is that before that even happens, you have a choice. You have a choice to make up your mind before the storm even comes. The cliche that says, "What doesn't kill you makes you stronger," is absolutely right. Every trial and tribulation that you and I encounter builds us up for our "defining moments" in life. Take the time to dig deep within yourself and examine all of the major turning points in your life and trace the decisions that you made during those times. Did those decisions lead you to this place? Are you at a crossroads, where things are so hard and you have your back up against a wall? Is God the only one that can turn your situation around? If so, I submit to you that this is one of those defining moments that He is using to usher you into your destiny. The decisions and choices that you make at this particular moment are critical to your fulfillment. Don't get angry, don't complain, but thank God for the opportunity to trust in him more, thank Him for not being a respecter of persons and showing you beacons of hope in others, and most of thank Him for having enough faith in you as His child to place this opportunity in your path. It's your "defining moment," what are you going to do with it??

Confidence

Confidence and courage come through preparation and practice.

Author Unknown


Unspeakable Speaks:
When I was young, my mother always told me that, "practice makes perfect." It wasn't until now that I understand the words that she spoke. Many of you may not know this and I will expound upon this more at a later date, but my mother passed away from breast cancer 18 years ago. I was 11 years old. It is not by accident that the past that shaped and molded my childhood has come back to face off with me.....when my daughter is now 11.

When I was diagnosed with breast cancer, the same silent killer of my mother, it wasn't hard to identify that unless I take action my fate would be much like hers. I was then and I am still determined to not just fight cancer, but to conquer and crush it, so that the curse does not reach my daughter. Realizing that I was going to have to depend heavily on my faith to get me through made all of the difference. When I told my family about the diagnosis, I made one statement that followed, "I will live and not die; this curse will not touch the rest of my family and out of this I pray that I be healed and those around me experience healing as well."

What I can tell you with absolute certainty is that I have "beat the hell out of this breast cancer." But as I told you before, there were several other "cancers" that were present and led me to this place. Beating breast cancer was just the first step in my journey. It was my practice for the real war, which is taking place within my own mind and soul. If I would have walked into this battle without being prepared, I would not have survived the first treatment. As I pressed forward, I gained the confidence necessary for the battle. There were definitely times that I didn't have the strength, but I was confident that I could pray for help, and God himself would hear me. It was in those times that I pushed past my own fears and despair and I took the word that God gave me and I acted on it .

Because I am willing to follow the word that I received from God and not trust in man (Proverbs 118:8-9), I gain the confidence and courage to move forward, and conquer other areas of my life and the "cancers of my past". Think about where you are right now and examine how much time and energy you are putting into where you are "called by God" to be. If you are spending the majority of your time complaining about where you are, you are misusing valuable time to prepare for your future. When your future comes you will miss opportunities, because you did not trust the process. Be flexible and let God move and direct your paths as He sees fit. Yes, it is easier said than done....but remember, practice makes His will perfect in you!