Shortly after Jacob was born I was tested to see if I have the BRCA (Breast Cancer) gene as my mom and my grandma have both had breast cancer. I tested positive for BRCA1. This making the chances much more likely that I would develop breast cancer and/or ovarian cancer. At that time I knew I had to make some decisions, but of course I wasn't done having kids so things got put on the back burner.
I knew Macie was our last child so Miguel and I discussed what our options were. As ovarian cancer is a high possibility with having the BRCA gene and harder to detect we decided I would have the surgery shortly after Macie was born. I wouldn't say it was a hard decision, it was something I needed to do and being done having kids made it easier, but at the same time, of course it wasn't easy.
I feel like this is the start of new beginnings for me. Obviously I'm not going to be pregnant again, I can become more consistent about working out and lose some weight. Who knows, maybe ditching the ovaries, birth control, etc will make losing the weight easier? One can only hope. It's the beginning of new beginnings for my family. I will enjoy every stage and every moment with my kids. Our family of 5 will forever be a family of 5, how exciting is that?
Questions I often get asked....
1. Will you have a mastectomy?
Not in the near future, maybe down the road. Breast cancer is more detectable and I am monitored every 6 months with either an MRI or Mammogram. When people find out I have the BRCA gene, this is the first question I get asked. There are so many different opinions about this, but for now, I'm holding off.
2. So you are going to go through Menopause?
Well....yes, my ovaries were taken out. Is this something I want to do at the age of 37? Not really, but I supposed it will be better than getting ovarian cancer. I will deal with the side effects as they come and hopefully it's not an issue for me. There are worse things...
I must say that my favorite part of the surgery was the anesthesia. Crazy, I know. I had never had anything other than an epidural before. The last thing I remember was the anesthesiologist telling me to take 4 deep breaths (I had the oxygen mask on). I remember taking breath 3 and the next thing I know, I'm in the PACU with the nurse telling me I'm waking up. The surgical site was definitely painful as I was waking up, but I wasn't sick or anything. I was completely coherent and remember it all. I was drinking my diet coke in no time! Haha!! My least favorite part was the gas pains. I believe with the laparoscopic procedure they inflate my stomach with CO2 so in addition to regular gas pains, but body was filled with gas for 2 hours. Bleh. I also hate the fact that I cannot lift my kids. I feel like I have this disconnection with Macie because I have hardly even held her. I think I'll be able to at least lift her soon, but for now I try not to.
In a nutshell, that's it. For the past few days I have been laying in bed at night thinking about things to write and chances are I've forgot to mention any of them, but I'll continue to add as things come up. Maybe I'll start a new blog just about this...who knows. Feel free to ask me questions, or whatever, I don't mind taking about it. I figure the more people that are aware, the better.
My advice to you today....GET A MAMMOGRAM! (It's not that bad).
