Test Results

If you didn't know, my mom was diagnosed with breast cancer just about 1 year ago.  She has gone through chemo and radiation treatments and so far things are looking positive.  Her lump was caught early, unlike my grandmother her mother, who almost 6 years ago died of breast cancer.  Since my mom got diagnosed, she also got tested for the BRCA gene.  She got confirmation that she is a carrier for the BRCA 2 gene.  Currently, in my family, my mom, my grandmother, my grandmother's twin sister, and my great grandmother all have had breast cancer.  My grandmother's younger sister also had and died of pancreatic cancer, which the BRCA 2 gene puts you at higher risk for.

Now that my mom got tested, my sisters and I had to decide if we were going to get tested.  At first, I was leaning totally against having the gene test.  After talking with my doctor, I decided that it would be better to find out if I had the gene, because with my family history, without getting tested, I would need to have increased testing to ensure that things were caught early just in case I was at higher risk and didn't know it. I got met with a genetic counselor right after Christmas and with my husband decided to have the test.  Just about a week ago, I found out that I tested positive for the gene.

I wasn't totally surprised at the results, but I was still in shock from actually seeing it on paper and having one of my worst fears confirmed.  Of course, the immediate recommendation was to have a bilateral mastectomy and oophorectomy.  I was told that I needed to meet with an oncologist and discuss my options.  If I decided not to have surgery, I need to have a mammogram and a MRI every 6 months alternating each time.  If I don't have the oophorectomy, I need to have a trans-vaginal ultrasound and a CA-125 blood test every 6 months.  Even though I don't have cancer, I left that appointment feeling like I had been given a a death sentence, especially if I didn't have surgery.  Not exactly a great feeling to have especially not actually having cancer. I thought that since my family tended to get cancer later in life, I have a decent amount of time to decide, but no, they just lucked out (if getting cancer at all can be considered lucky) and got cancer later in life.  The BRCA 2 gene tends to cause earlier cancers, something I did not expect to hear.

I am still trying to figure out where to go from here.  I have 3 small kids and a great husband.  I don't want to get cancer.  I don't want to go through the pain and suffering and even potentially die, but I also don't want to have surgery.  There are too many reasons to go into right now, and at some point I will probably write about it just to put it in words that I can actually read.  My New Year's goals go along with the changes that I want to make especially now that I have tested positive for the gene.

My diet needs to change and so do my exercise habits.  I have joined in with another twins mom's blog for a healthy challenge.  I am hoping that this challenge will help me make the changes that I need to make and hopefully make theme stick.

Amy

Diets

No not the kind to lose weight, though from what I hear a lot of people eat this way to lose weight.  Last summer I had a blood test for food allergies and this summer, my oldest has the same test.  Unfortunately, we both showed sensitivities to dairy and gluten.  I wasn't surprised about the dairy for either of us, and often wondered if gluten could be an issue.  Now it is time for both of us to go completely dairy and gluten free.

I think that this is going to be a really difficult thing for both of us.  Obviously, since I had the blood test over a year ago and haven't gone completely gluten or dairy free yet, I am going to have a really hard time. The good part for Michael is that I will be the one figuring out what I am going to be making for meals and snacks.  He won't have a choice like I do.  I have to make the right choice for me and him.

I have been reading some blogs that are gluten free focused and dairy free focused.  I am hoping that I will feel some relief from my foggy brain that I sometimes get.  When we talked to the dietician about Michael's  test results, we mentioned that at one point we were concerned about him being on the Autism spectrum.  My husband is no longer concerned, and even though I didn't pick up on things earlier, I am now the one that continues to have concerns that there may be more than just a speech delay.  The dietician mentioned that we may see some changes neurologically once Michael gets the gluten out of his system.  I am hoping that we see some changes since I have heard that diet can play a huge role in people's behaviors.

The other issue with diet is, my mom found out that she is a gene carrier for breast cancer.  I am more than likely going to get tested for the gene, but I also want to change my diet to help keep myself healthy even if I don't have the gene.

I am hoping to find some good bread recipes since that is going to be the hardest for me to give up as well as for Michael to give up.  What I have been finding lately is that I need to let go of what I expect things to taste like.  I can't expect that gluten free and dairy free foods, unless they are naturally gluten and dairy free, to taste the same as the regular foods will taste.

If anyone has any good recipes, cookbooks, blogs, or any info at all, please leave a comment.  If you have any suggestions on how best to tackle this, please leave a comment.  I will be researching and reading blogs often!

Wish me luck!
Amy

Food

So my kids aren't the greatest eaters and their weights truly reflect this.  At one of the doctors visits I recently had, I think my visit (my pcp is the kids' pcp) we talked about getting in more veggies.  My pcp suggested "Deceptively Delicious" by Jessica Seinfeld.  I had heard of the book, but never really paid much attention to it.  So far I think I have made 2 recipes from the book, so I can't truly review it, but the pancake recipe with pumpkin puree and the meatloaf recipe with carrots, onions, and celery were the bigg hit with my kids so far.  Unfortunately these are the only recipes I've made, but I am certainly going to try more.  My husband said that more than half the meatloaf is gone and that is not from them throwing it on the floor.  I can't tell you how excited I am that my kids ate so well.  The other big food item lately is hot dogs.  I've been making freaky franks from weelicious.com.  I really like the website for good healthy foods for kids.  I bought some beets today to try out the beet cookies.  I have a friend that really liked them, so now it is my turn to try them!

Hopefully I can get my kids to eat moer food by finding more recipes that they like and figuring out how to make it for me and my husband also!

Amy