BRCA 1 & 2 Testing

A new test for the BRCA 1 and 2 genes that is easier and cheaper--and more accurate--was announced this week.

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/04/21/business/more-accurate-affordable-tests-for-detecting-breast-cancer-genes.html?smid=nytcore-ipad-share&smprod=nytcore-ipad&_r=0

I'm glad to hear this.  I tested negative for the genes, as did my sister, but we were worried because three paternal aunts had breast cancer, and one died of ovarian cancer.

Geneticist Mary-Claire King of the University of Washington has called for this test to be available to all US women over 30 yrs. of age.

When Cancer Is Not a Dance

Sometimes cancer is not a dance.

Instead of calling you to a long, slow waltz, it assaults you--a knock-out punch to the head.

You stumble back to your feet, but it grabs you from behind, spins you, throws you across the room.

You hit the wall and collapse.

You find yourself in the hospital, not receiving care but lying with bony hands around your throat, unable to swallow, finally unable to breathe.

                                                  --in memory of a friend who died April 17, 2015.