I definitely should have paid more attention in science class.\u00a0 I do think, however, that I learned more about genetics in two hours yesterday than I did in my entire middle school, high school and college educations combined.\u00a0 (Which isn’t hard, I guess, considering I ended up with a BA degree in Journalism.)\u00a0 I remember being interested in those simple four block Punnett squares way back in Ms. Millen’s middle school science class.\u00a0 You know the ones: Big A, little a, Big B, little b.\u00a0 Hybrid. Probability.\u00a0 Genotype.\u00a0 Maternal.\u00a0 Paternal.\u00a0 If only I had paid more attention to the actual process rather than fantasizing about what color eyes my baby would have if I married “boy X.”<\/p>\n
My crash course in genetics came yesterday after I received a call at school from the USC genetics lab in Columbia.<\/p>\n
“Mrs. Pennington, I’m sure you’ve talked to Dr. Sweatman.”\u00a0 I was sure I hadn’t since my visit Thursday, but I listened on. “As you know, he wants you to come in for genetic counseling and we need to do it today.\u00a0\u00a0 He wants it done today.”<\/p>\n
“AS IN TODAY?” was all I could say.\u00a0 “RIGHT NOW?”\u00a0 I panicked as I immediately thought maybe the Oncotype DX results were in and weren’t conclusive or weren’t good.\u00a0 I packed up and within twenty minutes or so Mel and I were headed back to Columbia for yet another day of testing.<\/p>\n
I was completely wrong about the genetics counseling.\u00a0 The geneticist that we worked with is actually on Dr. Sweatman’s “Boob Board” as we now refer to his team of experts which will meet tomorrow on my case.\u00a0 She was a tall blonde, quite pleasant with an amazing accent that Mel finally nailed down as French Canadian and she was full of fascinating information.\u00a0 (Mel guessed she was from Louisiana or France, having lived in the south just long enough to make those syllables linger.)\u00a0 I’ll not go into all of the many specifics of our session.\u00a0 I probably couldn’t decipher the notes she copied for me anyway.\u00a0 But as usual, I’ll give my non-medical version as only I interpreted.<\/p>\n
So in a nutshell…Dr. Sweatman asked that I have the BRCA genetics testing done.\u00a0 We’ve had genetics counseling before at MUSC after learning of Mary Clare’s little half-heart.\u00a0 It’s a “session” with a geneticist who chats away asking all sorts of questions about your family history and draws all kinds little symbols and squares.\u00a0 Then, a blood sample is drawn and FedEx’ed away.\u00a0 $10,000 later, you have paperwork with proof of what you already know.\u00a0 Genetically, you’re a hot mess.<\/p>\n
So back to BRCA…BRCA 1 and BRCA 2 are apart of a group of genes that suppress tumors.\u00a0 Now here is where the punnett squares would have come in handy.\u00a0 (You know, if I actually listened in Ms. Millen’s class.)\u00a0 You receive two sets.\u00a0 One set from Daddy-O and one set from Mom.\u00a0 If I have a BRCA 1\/BRCA 2 mutation, I’m at a much higher risk for breast and\/or ovarian cancer.\u00a0 (It’s gotta be from my Dad’s genes or Mom’s-someone passed it down, IF I have the mutation.)<\/p>\n
So what does all of this mean?\u00a0 Since this genetic testing tests “Me,” it gives us information regarding my personal well being, and of course, will impact how McCanless and Mary Clare go about their future healthcare.\u00a0 Possibly earlier screenings, mammograms, etc.\u00a0 (They, of course, would be tested once they are older.\u00a0 Hopefully, they get Mel’s genes (for once) and NOT have the mutation, but if I have it, they have that 50% chance.\u00a0 Remember, the punnett.)\u00a0 Also, IF I do in fact have the crazy mutation, it may dramatically change the course of action in my current treatment. We would most likely take a much more aggressive approach.<\/p>\n
What is the difference between the Oncotype and BRCA tests?\u00a0 Both are genetic studies; however, Oncotype DX tests the biological activity<\/em> of my specific tumor-the one living in me right now- and\u00a0 the BRCA tests my genetics<\/em> and my risk of developing breast and\/or ovarian cancer at any point in my life-having to do with this tumor or not.\u00a0 Oncotype DX=all about the tumor\u00a0 BRCA=all about me<\/p>\n So right now, I’m waiting on two tests to come in:\u00a0 Oncotype DX recurrence score, which was shipped to California last week (but has yet to make it to the lab) and takes 7-10 days to process once getting to the lab and now my BRCA gene information, which was shipped to the one and only lab in the US that tests for the BRCA mutation in Salt Lake City and also takes 7-10 days to process.\u00a0 (After my insurance company approves it, that is.)<\/p>\n Obviously, my results will not be available in time for the “Boob Board” meeting tomorrow, so I imagine they will work out a plan for all possible outcomes.\u00a0 At this point, I’m not banking on anything, just sitting tight before allowing my mind to settle on any one outcome\/treatment.\u00a0\u00a0 Besides, I’m too busy with my girls and homework, dance class, and trying to get to school on time, dressed and in one piece everyday!\u00a0 And<\/em><\/strong> the rodeo is this weekend!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" I definitely should have paid more attention in science class.\u00a0 I do think, however, that I learned more about genetics in two hours yesterday than I did in my entire middle school, high school and college educations combined.\u00a0 (Which isn’t hard, I guess, considering I ended up with a BA degree in Journalism.)\u00a0 I remember […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6458","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.babypennington.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6458","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.babypennington.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.babypennington.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.babypennington.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.babypennington.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=6458"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/www.babypennington.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6458\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6476,"href":"https:\/\/www.babypennington.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6458\/revisions\/6476"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.babypennington.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=6458"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.babypennington.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=6458"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.babypennington.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=6458"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}