DNA test results

Today was supposed to be a day of rest, but to no avail. While en route to the mall (Sara said she needed some "retail therapy"), we got a call from the hospital requesting our presence. The genetic testing results had come back early, so we busted a U-turn and were Tripler-bound, towards our new home away from home.

Tripler Army Medical Center

On the way to the hospital, I asked Sara what she thought the results were going to be. We had both succumbed to the fact that she MUST have the gene mutation. There could be no other explanations to her early aged cancer diagnosis.

The genetic counselor, Susan, walked in and said, "I have good news." She handed us the paperwork faxed in from the lab, and across the top it said "NO MUTATIONS DETECTED." We were shocked.

This is great news for us. It means that she will be able to keep her right boob and we won't have to worry about the increased ovarian cancer risk that is caused by the BRCA mutation. They were recommending an oophorectomy if she was BRCA positive. For those of you not up on your medical lingo, an oophorectomy is a surgery where they remove the ovaries.

They drew some more blood for one more genetic test. Now, they are going to test her DNA for p53 mutations. Susan says she is pretty sure this test will come back negative, but she wants to be able to rule it out completely. Following is an excerpt from wikipedia.

p53 is important in multicellular organisms, where it regulates the cell cycle and thus functions as a tumor suppresor that is involved in preventing cancer. As such, p53 has been described as "the guardian of the genome," "the guardian angel gene," and the "master watchman," referring to its role in conserving stability by preventing genome mutation.

p53

Random fact of the day - In 1993, p53 was voted molecule of the year by Science magazine.

After Sara had her blood drawn, we had a nice conversation with Susan. We were discussing the developments in chemotherapy and the benefits that have come from breast cancer patients in the past participating in clinical studies. In the past there has been some confusion as to when a lady was considered a "breast cancer survivor." Does it take 5 years, 10 years, or longer post recovery? She gave Sara a pin of an angel wearing a pink ribbon and said, "Sara, you are a breast cancer survivor!" Breast cancer is now considered a chronic illness, and is not a terminal diagnosis. As soon as a person is diagnosed, they are considered a survivor. How encouraging?!?

On our way out of the hospital, we met Indy.

Indy, a Certified Therapy Dog

Indiana Jones (aka Indy) is a 4-year old retired show dog who visits Tripler a few times each week. His handler gave me his business card and told us to email them to set up a canine therapy appointment after Sara has surgery. This dog is AWESOME, and I have a new best friend in Hawaii.

Rejoice in the LORD always. I will say it again: REJOICE! --Phillipians 4:4