This week I am honored to share Dominique Wnuk with you all. She is my cousin, my best friend since diapers and a soul mate. She's an artist, photographer, wife, a go getter and just plain fabulous. I could go on and on but I'm gonna let her take the reigns.
Bright Pink
By Dominique Wnuk
“Anyone can hide. Facing up to things, working through them,
that's what makes you strong.”
― Sarah Dessen
On her blog, Angela shares with us many empowering tips.
Ideas to set goals, shift consciousness and live abundantly – all as a means to
come from a place of "yes."
When she asked me to share some thoughts with you about
living intentionally my mind raced on topics. I can make a killer to-do list,
health-ify all kinds of recipes, reverse engineer goals like a pro, teach you
techniques to take an award-winning photo, point you to work out routines and
pin the most stunning wedding you can imagine on Pinterest (even though I'm
already married). I'm always happy to share knowledge and gravitate towards
learning new things from those around me. I'd love to write about any of those things
(and hope Angela has me back to do so).
Let's start here though. The aforementioned to-do list. I
want to tell you about a task that was lingering on my to-do list that I
recently crossed off. It was a unique accomplishment; A monkey on my back that
brought with it fear. That bad energy has four letters – BRCA, a hereditary
gene mutation that can predispose carriers to breast and ovarian cancer. Women
with harmful mutations in either BRCA1 or BRCA2 have risk of breast cancer that
is about five times the normal risk, and a risk of ovarian cancer that is about
ten to thirty times normal (source). Having family members with
the confirmed mutation, I could be a carrier. Onto my to-do list went "get
tested for the BRCA mutation."
(source)
And there it sat. A commitment I was hiding from. I never
made the appointment, telling myself if I had it I might believe myself into
being sick or that it cost too much to get tested. But then another cousin of mine reached out
to share her experience with the testing, the information she was provided by
her genetic counselors and about how positive her whole experience was, I couldn't
hide from this any longer.
Here was a test that would identify my risk proactively,
before it ever became life-threatening. Arming myself with knowledge, my risk
and lifestyle changes is not something I should fear, in fact, it is smart and
empowering. It will keep me around for my family. Once I shifted my consciousness
around that blessing it became an opportunity. Being tested for the BRCA1 gene
is an opportunity that was not afforded to women in generations before me.
And with that, I called my friends in the genetics department
at a nearby hospital and scheduled an appointment. Here's a list of the risk for
those who should consider the testing.
- A personal history of breast cancer at age 50 or younger
- A personal or family history of male breast cancer
- A personal or family history of bilateral breast cancer (cancer in both breasts)
- A personal history of ovarian cancer
- A parent, sibling, child, grandparent, grandchild, uncle, aunt, nephew, niece or first cousin diagnosed with breast cancer at age 45 or younger
- A mother, sister, daughter, grandmother, granddaughter, aunt, niece or first cousin diagnosed with ovarian cancer
- A family history of both breast and ovarian cancers on the same side of the family (either mother's or father's side of the family)
I wanted to share this with you all as a means to encourage
other strong, smart and beautiful women to consider their risk factors, do
their research and get this test if you're at risk. To get started researching
your family history here
is a great list of questions to ask.
Let's address the elephant in the room – the cost. If you're
afraid of the costs here are a couple of tips. First, ask your genetic
counselor for the insurance code, then call and check with your insurance
carrier what the costs are before the appointment. My plan covered most of the
testing due to my risk level and that I knew which strain my family member had
been confirmed to have. And, the genetic testing center even provided paperwork
saying that they would alert me of any cost exceeding $375 out of pocket before
proceeding with reviewing the test. If you need assistance there is an amazing
charity that Christina Applegate started called Right Action for Women where
you can apply to obtain funding: http://rightactionforwomen.org/.
Here's another great list of resources: http://www.brightpink.org/i-am-high-risk/financial-resources/ There are resources available to help you
take control.
The visit itself entails a consultation
with a genetics counselor who reviews your risk, discusses lifestyle changes
and what steps could be taken for my breast and ovarian health of carriers and
explains the screening. The screen is a
blood test or a saliva test. My results took 3-4 weeks to come in.
My results came back negative – there is no mutation
present. And I am so, so grateful. However, there are still lifestyle
changes I am enacting because my risk is still higher given my family history.
Those measures include upping my exercise routine, changing my diet to include
more fruits and vegetables (here
is a great grocery shopping list), reducing chemical usage in my home, and
getting a mammogram and MRI this year to get a baseline. Here are some more
amazing tips: http://www.breastcancerfund.org/assets/pdfs/tips-fact-sheets/1-sheet-tip-cards.pdf
This may be a bit different than Angela's typical posts. I
understand cancer can be a difficult and scary topic. But what I'm talking
about is the bright side, because I truly believe there is one; the opportunity
to take action. Spend the time doing the research, talking to other women and
encouraging other women to take actions themselves. We have to support each
other on and this is an amazing place to start.
Resources:
