Im really worried about this, its the re-occurence of cancer within my family- please anyone with any advice...

[tiredemma]

This may be long sorry.

My mom is from a large family and is one of 9 girls.

2 of my aunts have died within the past 7 yrs of cancer- one of melanoma (?) and one of cervical cancer.

2 other aunts and my own mother have had various procedures such as hysterectomies beacuse of abnormalities and benign tumors. so these have not developed a cancer as far as i am aware as of yet.

• most recently my moms eldest sister ( aged 65) discovered she had breast cancer- it was caught early on and she is currently undergoing treatment and so far things seem to be going well....

because of the high incidence of cancer in my family my moms youngest sister ( age 45) was recommended by her Gp to have a mammogram- having it 5 yrs earlier than normal.

she went to the Hospital on monday just thinking it would be a routine procedure but the Consultant discovered something that he said he was "not happy" about and she underwent a biopsy there and then. They phoned her yesterday to ask her to go up at 10am today to discuss the findings.
She is devastated, I just tried to speak to her on the phone and she cant get any words out.

Im so upset, this aunt is more like a mother to me ( long story- my mom was not the best mother) and this aunt really treated me and still does treat me as a daughter, my children are really grandchildren to her.
Im terrified that its going to be something awful, and I dont know how my nan will cope with another daughter becoming ill to this again.

But also im concerned now for my own health- surely there must be something genetic here- or is it so that we are just so unlucky to have females in our families who develop such an illness.

what can i do? should i do something for myself or will i appear paranoid.

any advice please, i feel sick here now waiting for her to phone me,

[kando]

Not sure what to say tiredemma, but I'm not surprised you are worried sick. My sister is currently undergoing treatment for breast cancer (she's only 27), and we've also discovered that my dad's mum and sister have also had it. Our GP has recommended that we go for genetic testing, but I suspect that's because it's been breast cancer as opposed to different cancers. Maybe you could make an appointment with your GP and see what s/he says about whether genetic testing might be an option? Take care, xx

[fruittea]

First of all, so sorry to hear about your aunt, I hope it all turns out well.

In terms of yoursefl, you should speak to your doctor, definitely. Both my granny and mother died of breast cancer, and when I once found a lump (turned out to be nothing)I was referred for genetic counselling. They don't think it's a very strong link, but it means that I'm "in the loop" and get an annual check up and early mammography.

Don't wait for something to happen to you before you go - I think with your family history, it would be worth speaking to someone in advance. Prevention better than cure and all that.

[bozza]

Two issues here - your worry about your Aunt's health which sounds awful for her and you to go through, and then your concerns about your own health.

I would suggest that you go to see your GP and mention your family history. You might be offered extra screening or even counselling to help you along. I definitely think it is worth a visit. Sorry I can't be more help.

[tiredemma]

Im going to phone Gp and book an appt.

Thanks ladies for replying.

[malaleche]

You must be so worried. I think in the light of your family's medical history you would be wise to get regular, thorough check-ups and maybe genetic counselling.
hope it all turns out well for your aunt. {{{hugs}}}

[shouldbe]

I'm sorry to hear about your aunt.
I have worries about this issue too. I've been to the doctor and spoken about it and had councelling that covered it in part too. Due to my age (32) there's not a lot they can offer atm so I've been sent away to look after myself - eat well, not smoke etc. They will keep a watch on me and remind me to go for smears etc but that's about it for now. There is the genetic test available but I'm not sure if I want to go down that route atm.... But knowing that my GP is aware of my feelings and the family history helps to put my mind at rest a little.

[tiredemma]

can i be an idiot and ask what the genetic counselling is? is it a blood test kind of thing?

[KittyLetteMeEatAnEasterEgg]

im so sorry to hear this tiredmama,

she sounds like shes in a bit of a state, could you visit her? is she close by?

maybe she just needs a hug,

i set up this thread to help people who are going through sililar things,

i hope everything turns out well xxx

[kando]

Yes, I think it's a blood test - we are currently having it for something related to dd1 and it involved us having blood taken. But I'm not entirely sure if it would be the same thing for cancer.

[Overrun]

Sorry to hear this Tiredmamma, I hope that your Aunt is okay. As another poster said, there are two issues here, your totally reasonable fear for yourself, and your anxiety about family members esp your Aunt.
I think this mixture of emotions can be particularly difficult to handle, so as well as agreeing with other posters that you should get yourself checked out and monitored.
I also wonder whether some sort of brief counselling or therapy might be helpful. To deal with all this anxiety?

[fruittea]

For me (and it was a few years ago), genetic counselling involved a meeting with asomeone from the genetics service in Heath hospital, Cardiff, to talk through my family history. I had to prepare information in advance about who had had what - family tree style information but with added medical bits. We went over it all, they asked questions, and then they worked out my statistical probablity of getting breast cancer too. For me, they estimate a double risk - as there are no other close relatives, it wasn't higher.

There are blood tests that can be done, and things may have moved on by now, but they couldn't do it for me as both my mum and gran had already died.

The problem with testing is, I guess, that you have to have some idea about what you're going to do if the results aren't good. Which is where further counselling would come in.

It's all a bit scary, I know, but it's worth having a chat to your GP in the first instance, who'll have more info on current thinking.

[fruittea]

I've made that sound really strange! They needed bloods from the sick relatives too, to compare. But it was years ago - at least 10 - so things might have changed since then.

[Highlander]

tiredmamma - see if your GP can send you for genetic counselling as your family history is fairly complex. Hysterectomies used to be performed willy-nilly for anything unusual. The RCoOG still maintain to many are being perfomred.

[tiredemma]

she has gone to the hospital with her husband, she has three children - 2 boys ( well men really!) age 27 and 24 and an 18 yr old girl. she is trying to keep it from them at the moment.

I wanted to go and see her yesterday, but she was quite clear that she just wanted to spend the day with her husband.

thanks for all of your valuable advice. I will post as soon as we know what the outcome of today is.

[tiredemma]

Thats the thing Fruittea- I dont know how I would cope if genetic investigations bought up something.

Yesterday my aunt said that she wishes that she had not gone for the early mammogram now, i told her that then that would burying her head in the sand and that 3 or 4 yrs down the line- she would discover an lump and then it really would be too late to do anything about it.

thats how I feel though, im terrified of finding something- but know that its not something that can be shoved away in the kitchen drawer ( like where i shove the credit card bill!)

[fruittea]

It's all very raw for you now. You don't have to rush. Just see how things go with your aunt, and think it over when you feel more together.

You're right, though, she may wish she hadn't been, but the fact is that if they've caught something early, there's a far better chance that they can do something about it. We all know that it;s the right thing to do, even though we're scared of finding anything.

[bozza]

Your Aunt feels like that now, tiredemma but she is in a very scary, shocking and uncertain place just now. Not having the mammogram and she would still be in this place a few years down the line, but with less chance of a positive outcome. Maybe you should hold off from the GP for a few days until you have more of a firm diagnosis for your Aunt.

[Overrun]

How are things today tiredemma?

[CocoLoco]

There isn't a genetic predisposition to cervical cancer, it's caused by a virus, and I don't believe melanoma is one that runs in families either. AFAIK breast/ovarian/bowel/endometrial cancers are connected, and can have a genetic cause, but most other cancers are likely to be one-offs in an individual.

Have you had an update from your aunt yet?

[shouldbe]

Thinking about you and your Aunt, Tiredemma - how are things today?

[pindy]

Thinking of you - how did things go?

X

[Pimmpom]

Have been thinking about you and your Aunt.xx

I'm not sure if you would be offered genetic counselling but it is certainly worth discussing with your GP.

My mum and her sister have both had breast cancer. When I had to go to the breast clinic last year with a lump, the Registra said I should have annual check ups because of my family history. I will have a mammogram and ultrasound yearly until I am 50, (not that long for me )then I will them every 3 years like everyone else, because by then I am at no greater risk.


xxxx

[tiredemma]

Sorry for taking so long to get back- im snowed under with uni work- * this is copy and pasted from cancer support thread....

right- news back from my lovely aunt.

biopsy was fine, however consulatant has seen something on her right breast that he is not to happy about and wants it removed within the next 3 weeks, he said had my other aunt not been diagnosed in jan with breast cancer, then he would probably leave it for 6 mths and see what happens, but because of my other aunt- he wants it out.
What a fab DR.

My aunt sounded so relieved on the phone, I am also relieved but still going to the dr's to see if its necessary for any tests.

[drosophila]

My uncle and Dad both died of stomach cancer, their brother died of pancreatic cancer and another brother died from alcohol abuse at a fairly young age. The stomach cancer thing got me worried too but there are other things to consider.

The one thing my Dad and his brothers had in common was excessive hard working and a tendancy to stress. They also ate too much red meat, salt and were fond of a drink or two too many. They were all a reasonable age when they died although they all died younger than their parents and bearing in mind my Grandad was born in the 1870s I think you would have expected their offspring to live longer. Having thought about it I realised that their offspring actually worked much harder and I am sure that was a big factor.