The research I have been doing for this blog has led me to find a new understanding and outlook on my situation with BRCA-1. Specifically, it has decreased my anxiety regarding the preventative surgeries I plan to have in a few years. Before beginning the research process, I was apprehensive about learning more because I thought it would only scare me. Fortunately, I was mistaken. Instead of fear and doubt, I have found hope and confidence due to the ever-increasing sophistication of medical research associated with these surgeries. I feel a lot more prepared to deal with the upcoming decisions, operations, and recoveries associated with my preventative surgeries.
The surgery that used to scare me the most was the one that would involve the removal of some component of the reproductive system, whether that be my ovaries, fallopian tubes, uterus, cervix, or some combination of those organs. Not only will this surgery eliminate my ability to become pregnant, it will also send me into early menopause, create a reliability on external sources of synthetic hormone supplements, and contribute to bone density issues like osteoporosis. When my doctors at SCCA told me that they would like to perform this operation sooner than previously discussed, I was worried, confused, and upset. Now, after talking to fellow BRCA gene mutation carriers at a FORCE meeting, I realize that I have the ability to decide what path I’d like to follow and which logic I’d like to ascribe to. It’s my body and my life after all.
SCCA’s logic with performing a hysterectomy or oophorectomy as soon as possible is based on the fact that doing so has been proven to decrease the risk of developing breast cancer due to the removal of the hormones that cause it. However, I’m planning to undergo a preventative double mastectomy regardless, so I should theoretically be able to delay the reproductive organ surgeries until I’m a bit older. I would definitely prefer to go back to my original plan of beginning my preventative surgeries with a mastectomy once I am done having children around the age of 33. Then, a few years later, I’ll have a hysterectomy or an oophorectomy to reduce the risk of developing ovarian cancer. This plan makes a lot more sense to me because the side effects will have a significant impact on my life and I should be able to reasonably decide when I’m ready to experience those.
In my understanding, the difference between a hysterectomy and an oophorectomy is that a hysterectomy involves the removal of the uterus and an oophorectomy involves the removal of the ovaries. There are different kinds of each surgery; for instance, a salpingo-oophorectomy, which is the surgery that has been recommended to me, involves the removal of the ovaries and the fallopian tubes. Since they are different surgeries, side effects and long-term issues will vary. I’m sure that research and recommendations are likely to change over the next five or so years before I will have to decide which route to take. For now, my mentality is that I’ll go through whatever surgery is proven to reduce the risk of developing cancer the most because I’d much rather have unpleasant side-effects than cancer.
Pre-Cancer Kenzie 