I am surprised not to see a million posts on this show already. But I will be 1st, that is fine with me...:^0

A little about me. My sister at age 38 (4 years ago) was diagnosed with breast cancer. She also had a double masectomy, reconstructive surgery and all the other treatments one can think of. Unfortunately late summer of 2007 she found out it had come back...and this time it already spread. It is still called breast cancer, but mestasasized into bone cancer. Unfortunately she did not make it to see her son turn 14 this August and passed away in mid July of 2008. Less than a year after she found out it had come back.

She was tested for the BRAC gene and tested positive. It can be passed down from either side, she got it from our father's side, who in 1972 had prostate cancer and it turned also into bone cancer.

When I came home from her funeral, I immediately called around for the test. Let me tell you, there are not too many places that are willing to do it, and the ones that I did find that did the testing, did not accept my insurance. So I put the issue aside for awhile. Not too long unfortunately, because I had to my surprise a mammogram come back with something and they did an ultrasound and found a solid lump that does not meet the criteria for fibroadenoma ( which is basically a harmless, benign, yet solid lump that women get sometimes).

So just yesterday, a needle biopsy was done and I am now awaiting my results. Anxious, nervous, and scared....

I hope we can get this testing for this gene made easier and perhaps less expensive. I hear Christina Applegate is working on that, and I cannot wait to see this Oprah show to hear more about this. Do I think that by having the test, I would not had my needle biopsy needing to be done yesterday? I am sure I still would have, but I think we need to be in the know, and find out ahead of time....

I will post again once I get my results....

Take care,

Eveline

PS - Thank you Oprah and thank you Christina for doing this show!!!

I work in surgery in a hospital; I am witness to the prevalence of breast cancer. It avoids no one: young, old, overweight, skinny, black, white...it seems the only criteria to breast cancer is having breasts. I would venture to say that of twenty women I work with daily, 1/4 have been diagnosed, from nurses to managers to administration.

I have noticed that amongst health care professionals, it is more common practice for women to avoid long and exhaustive treatments and have both breasts removed. I have seen many times over and again, the cancer to return to the other breast and eventually have that one removed as well. I could go on for pages to the painful accounts of women (many co-workers) undergoing surgeries, chemotherapy, radiation and all the hardships they endure in a struggle to save their lives. It is overwhelming, to say the least.

I am excited that Christina has elected to go public with her choice in that THIS IS HAPPENING. Breast cancer is happening and women are faced with the painful choices of treatments EVERYDAY! I beleive it is important for women to see this show. Although I have not read a word about the show or Christina's struggle to reach a decision of treatment, I already know her story as I have heard it many times before. This story has been shared by many women before and sadly many women tomorrow.

Thank you Oprah and Christina for your courage to share with the world because THIS IS HAPPENING!

Many of us have had to make this painful choice based on a positive BRCA test result with or without a breast cancer diagnosis. I had my double mastectomy done prophylactically back in 2002 after finding I carried a BRCA2 mutation. I already had two lumps on watch on my mammogram and did not feel the overwhelming odds of breast cancer from this mutation gave me the option to wait.

FORCE is an amazing organization created by Sue Friedman specifically for those of us who have a high genetic risk of breast and ovarian cancer. I hope this amazing educational and supportive group is highlighted in this show. I know we would welcome Christina Applegate with open arms and provide her with support from a community who really understands what she has gone through and will face in the future.

Christina Applegate has made a very difficult choice made even more so by the spotlight of her celebrity status. I am very proud of her.

I applaud Christina Applegate for being so open about her breast cancer and the BRCA gene. The awareness she will bring to the public will be so beneficial to the BRCA community. Unfortunately, the treatment options given to BRCA+ women are usually radical, yet necessary, and women every day are chosing the same path as Ms. Applegate.

I hope that physicians will also listen to her story and be made more aware of the actual possibiltiy of carrying this gene and offer genetic counseling and the test to more women and men. I hope reserachers are motivated to study the long term prognosis of individuals that have chosen various surveillance and prophylactic options so that more informed choices can be made.

I admire the bravery that Ms. Applegate showed during her interview on GMA and I can't wait so see the interview with Oprah. I do wish that FORCE had been asked to be there as this organization represents the BRCA community and provides so much support.

Thanks Oprah and Ms. Applegate for bringing this into the public light!!!

I'm so proud of Christina for sharing her journey, especially so soon in the process. You are so strong.

I'm a 33 year old single mom. I too tested positive for the breast cancer gene mutation BRCA 1 almost 7 years ago, which gave me an 87% lifetime risk of breast cancer and a 60% lifetime risk of ovarian cancer. After the test, I had been under surveillance at Dana Farber and Memorial Sloane Kettering and sought the advice of a genetic counselor at Yale. Surveillance to me means hoping and praying for early detection of a cancer that is very aggressive in gene mutation carries, usually showing up in later stages.

Two years ago I became tired of waiting around for the somewhat inevitable and opted for a prophylactic bilateral mastectomy. I wanted to pick the battlefield and the fight the battle on my terms. My surgery date was Oct. 12, 2007. My pathology report showed I had pre-cancerous cells in on of my breasts that would have developed into cancer had I not had the surgery. Under no circumstances do I think what I did was "radical" in the common sense of the word, which usually translates as crazy or freakish. Merriam-Webster's online defines, "radical" as: "marked by a considerable departure from the usual or traditional." That is exactly what I (and Christina) did. Informed of my genetic makeup, I departed from the usual or traditional treatment for high risk women, which was waiting around with a target on my back. If you are skeptical, ask yourself this: would you take a flight on a plane that had an 87% of crashing? Would call canceling such a flight a "radical" decision?

I went through reconstruction this past year and finished this summer and I'm now an advocate and peer counselor for other high risk women. I hope that sharing my story empowers other high risk women to take charge of their breast and ovarian health. There are options for both prevention and early detection (genetic counseling, testing, surveillance programs--mammogram/MRI/ultrasound-- and other options in addition to a prophylactic bilateral mastectomy). I want to encourage physicians to further educate themselves on today's options for prevention and early detection as well as the emotional requirements of their high risk patients and to let high risk women know that there is emotional support available for them (for example, Bright Pink offers PinkPal, one-on-one peer support). If you are high risk, or if you are not sure, please speak to a genetic counselor. They can be amazingly helpful.

I have a beautiful 4 year old daughter. This gene mutation not only affects me, but it both directly and possibly indirectly affects her--she has a 50% chance of carrying the mutation. I want to thank Christina and other brave women who have brought this issue into the spotlight, including Lindsay Avner of Bright Pink. I am hopeful that our next generation will have better choices available to them. In the meantime, there is so much support available for high risk women and I encourage them to reach out for it. Also, check out "in the Family", a BRCAmentory airing on PBS Oct. 1 at 10pm.

There are many women who have lived with scarred breasts or breast reconstruction from other things than cancer. It is something they lived with all their life= not having natural breasts. So, it is no loss to cry over since they never experienced natutal breasts. I wish people wouldn't place such importance on the breasts. That is not what makes you a person.

However, shame on insurance companies for being so stingy to cover breast reconstruction. Yes, they cover it for cancer but generally not other injuries. Can Barak Obama do something about this?

I will be tuning in to watch. Thank you BOTH for airing this show.

Doctors are not informed, patients are not informed, hospitals and clinics are not informed, and the general public is not informed about BRCA and it is frustrating and heartbreaking.

Last Sunday, I volunteered a the Twin Cities Susan G Komen 3 day event and _even there_- almost everyone I spoke to did NOT know abut BRCA?!! It's pathetic. Even in the BC community! How can this be? There was NO educational material, nothing on BRCA for the public to have or look at. Not even information on BC in general, so much for "educating"?!! I was dumbfounded and saddened.
My heart aches...

It's been a long journey and I can only thank the FORCE community and Sue Friedman and the Young Survivors Coalition for giving me some sense of direction and sanity.

I hope the airing of In The Family is mentioned as a upcoming BRAC-umentary- it will be on Oct. 1st on PBS. I can't wait.

Two shows in one week- a miracle!
A great way to present October as BC awareness month- Bravo!
For my daughter Charlie- and all those out there fighting, I will never give up.

Thank you Oprah, Thank you Christina

Dear Oprah,

To your show roster with Christina Applegate and Nancy Goodman Brinker on Tuesday, September 30th, would you also add Executive Director, Sue Friedman, of FORCE: Facing Our Risk of Cancer Empowered, Tampa, FL, as well as Dr. Steven Narod, Program Director, Familial Cancer Research Institute, Women's College Hospital, Toronto, Canada? Please just 'yes', because you're Oprah and you can make most any thing happen.

Sue Friedman gave up a thriving, quiet, devoted career in as a veteranian to purposely help thousands of women across North America, like myself, find resources and a safe haven by establishing and keeping afloat the FORCE organization on a shoe-string budget. She has been a visionary of the same callibre as familial young breast cancer survivor Nancy G. Brinker and her young sister lost to the disease, Susan G. Komen.

Steven Narod is "the most cited scientist in the world in the field of breast cancer". In the realm of hereditary breast cancer, he is soundly cutting-edge.

How could you possibly not include these two breast cancer dynamos as participants on your upcoming show? Imagine the wonders they could bring to us all if you publicly brought them together with Christina and Nancy.

My paternal grandmother died at age 34 from hereditary ovarian, and her daughter was diagnosed at age 36 with the same disease. I was 40 when I found a lump determined to be stage II breast cancer; first cousin to ovarian cancer. I have had both breasts removed, pretty reconstruction like Christina will soon have, and my hopes of children lost due to chemo and preventative ovary removal.

You've lifted up my world today, Oprah Winfery, just by allowing my voice of united hope here today. Thank you.

Marly in Vancouver, Canada

BRCA2+, 10-year breast cancer survivor as of last Tuesday, September 23rd

Thank you, and bless you for having Christina Applegate and her current operation on your show. I just found out on Sept. 18th that I am carrying the BRCA 1 gene, after being diagnosed with stage 1 breast cancer. Our family is in third generation with cancer (my mom died at the age of 44 of ovarian cancer). I thought I was safe from cancer since I had a total prophylactic hysterectomy 14 years ago, but I was side-lined in June with a suspicious mammogram. I have had calls from friends with breast cancer, but NO ONE with the BRCA gene problem. I made the hard decision to have both breasts removed ASAP, and then to go through Chemotherapy. If anyone out there also made this decision, please respond. thanks, rosieroxxx

For four years I have waited for you to do a show on the BRCA mutation to enlighten the general public about the segment of the population that is far more likely than 1 in 8 to not only get breast cancer, but get it young and get it aggressive. I'm so glad that you are finally taking this on, but sad that a beautiful young woman like Christina Applegate has to be the spokesperson.

I found out about my BRCA1+ mutation after I'd been diagnosed with breast cancer and treated for it. I learned so much about this mutation from FORCE (Facing Our Risk of Cancer Empowered), an organization founded and now run by Susan Friedman. It was there that I learned that as a Jewish woman of European decent, I had a much higher chance of having this mutation. If I'd known, or even heard of the BRCA mutation, before I got cancer, I would have had mastectomies to prevent getting the disease. As it turned out, the cancer was aggressive, and even though it appeared to be 'cured,' being 'triple negative', it came back after four years and it had spread into my lymph nodes and my lungs. The odds of living a long life reduced significantly as I am now in Stage 4.

It is too late for me to prevent walking this path. I am thrilled to teach others in this BRCA population about how they can reduce their risk for breast and ovarian cancer BEFORE it can strike.

Thank you Oprah for bringing this to the forefront at the beginning of Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

Some women are flatchested. Some get breast implants. It seems like they are in same boat as women who have mastectomies. Hence, they can get breast implants, too.

I just wanted to thank you for this show, I am very interested to see it next week. I am 32 years old, and found out my BRCA2+ status in March 2008. My mother and aunt were tested positive for the gene in 2006, and both are breast cancer survivors.

I hope that it is stressed in your show how important genetic counseling is to women who are considering this test. I also want to applaud FORCE, Facing Our Risk Of Cancer Empowered. I would have been lost without this site and the help of Sue Friedman. Even after my positive test result, I was clueless about what steps to take next. I didn't know where to go for research, or what type of doctors I now needed to see and how to find them. I posted a question on the FORCE site looking for answers, and Sue asked me to contact her personally. With her help I was given the names of several different cancer centers and doctors in my area. I was at a low, and having this stranger reach out to me was amazing, and helped me take my head out of the sand where I had tried to bury it after finding out my diagnosis. Sue has reached out to so many women on this site, and devoted herself to spreading the word and giving assistance in any way that she is able.

I had a prophylactic bilateral mastectomy 3 weeks ago. With the support of the women (and men) on the FORCE site, I decided to take the steps NOW, so that I would never have to experience the devastation of hearing the words "you have cancer". I never wanted to have my husband, two daughters or any other loved ones have to go through this traumatic experience with me. We have already witnessed too many loved ones being lost to cancer, I was not going to take the chance (which because of the BRCA2 gene, I now know is 87%) of being next. At some time in the future I will also have my ovaries removed due to the increased risk of ovarian cancer.

So thank you Christina and Oprah for this show. Christina, you are an incredibly strong woman, and I am sorry for what you have had to go through. But I thank you for bringing this information to everyone through your personal experience.

God Bless!

Three years ago I discovered that I carried the BRCA2 gene mutation - one of the mutations that 1 in 40 people of Ashkenazi Jewish descent carry. I was 48 and was lucky enough to find out before any cancer diagnosis and in time to have a double prophylactic mastectomy together with prophylactic oophorectomy. Both my mother and sister had breast cancer and my sister lost her battle to the disease last year at age 54. One of the last things she told me a day before she passed away was that I was so lucky to have the choice to undertake this preventive surgery. She wasn't so lucky. While it might seem like a radical step to take to some people, for me and the many other women who carry a BRCA gene mutation, it is a small price to pay for reducing our risk as much as possible. The odds of 50 - 85% of one day developing breast cancer and approximately a 20- 30% chance of developing ovarian cancer, were not odds I wanted to live with. The stress and anxiety of going through the rest of my life going from one test (mammogram, MRI, ultrasound, etc.) to another was severely affecting my quality of life. Now, three years after my surgery, I can now get on with living life and not focusing on the "what if" or "when" syndrome. I got through this with the support of my friends, family and support groups like FORCE and a local support group where I live in Alberta, Canada (HBOC Society of Alberta). I applaud Christina for the steps she has taken - not just to undergo the surgery, but to go public with it. Thank you Oprah for airing this. I believe many lives may get saved by people discovering whether they carry a gene mutation. This does not mean that everyone has to undergo prophylactic surgery - that is a personal decision. But knowledge is power, and for those who undertake surveillance they will be monitored much more closely than if they remained ignorant of their status. I look forward to seeing the programme. Jacky.

Radical? I can see how these surgeries may seem radical to some people. But to me, at 32, they were not radical at all.

My mother was diagnosed with ovarian cancer at 43; I was 12 at the time. She survived the ovarian cancer, but at the age of 51 she was diagnosed with breast cancer, and she died when she was 55.

My first cousin was diagnosed with breast cancer at the age of 43 and then recovered, but later was diagnosed with ovarian cancer and died at the age of 47.

My mother died before genetic testing was as readily available, but my cousin was able to have the genetic testing before she passed away. The results showed that she was positive for the BRCA1 mutation. Essentially, what this means is that with the BRCA1 mutation, one can have up to about an 87% risk of breast cancer, and about a 40-60% risk of ovarian cancer. My family had obviously proven those risks a dangerous reality.

For years I avoided having testing done, instead I chose a surveillance program as my breast surgeon suggested, assuming I may be positive. Then, about 8 months ago I had a breast cancer scare, and while I waited for results, I had the genetic testing done. All I could think was that I didn't want to have to go home and tell my kids I didn't try everything possible to avoid cancer. Turns out, luckily, I did not have breast cancer. But while I was waiting the couple of weeks for the results to come back, I started working with my breast surgeon on moving forward with a prophylactic mastectomy, interviewing plastic surgeons, researching reconstruction methods, and talking to my gynecological oncologist about hysterectomy.

By now, I was ready to broach the subject of surgical interventions. I had always known that if I found out I had a mutation, I would want to have the prophylactic surgeries, and that I would want to complete the surgeries as quickly as I could while still allowing my body to heal. I had researched what it meant to be BRCA positive, and had many discussions with my physicians, genetic counselor, friends and family. I knew that I was as prepared as I could be should the result be positive, and that my support system was intact.

When I received the call that I was BRCA1+, despite all of my matter of fact planning, I was devastated. All I could think about was my children. As shocking as the news was, there was some odd relief in finally knowing, not having to carry the unknown around with me anymore.

At the age of 32, I was the oldest woman in my family with the BRCA mutation still living. 32!!

My children are older, so I made the decision that I was content with having two kids, and that quite frankly, the risk of leaving my children while I'm still young, wasn't worth the benefit of possibly having more children in the future.

On March 13^th 2008 I had a hysterectomy, and three weeks later I had a double mastectomy with reconstruction, and since then I have had 2 other reconstructive surgeries, the last being about a month ago. I was very blessed to have a large network of friends and family who were with me every step of the way. As a child, much of my activities stopped with my mothers illness. It was important to me that my children were able to carry on with their lives, and stay busy as much as possible, without feeling pulled away from me. My support system brought us meals EVERY DAY for months, made sure my children got to their activities, they had sleepovers with me when I was sick, or scared, or sad, they held my hand in doctors appointments, made me laugh when I really needed to, and most importantly they kept my world moving when I needed to step back for a while and fight for myself.

These surgeries were obviously not easy...but what they did, was allowed me to fight. I can breathe now, I can slow down, I'm not being chased by our family's cancer anymore.

That, and I have a pretty nice set now. I'm currently working on breaking myself out of the habit of subconsciously publicly groping myself. And quite frankly, I have children to raise, books to read, a world to travel, food to eat, friends to love, men to meet, a very co dependent dog to care for, and adventures awaiting me. Impending cancer doesnt fit well into that schedule.

So...radical? No, not to me. Radical would have been going out without a fight.

Christina-thank you for speaking up. Shine on love!

Kate

By the way: Support networks:

Bright Pink!!! (Love you Linds) I don't' know how I would have made it without my brightpink sisters.

The Wellness Community

FORCE

I found out I carried the BRCA1 gene mutation in February of this year. I have 5 other sisters that tested and fortunately they were all negative. I was so relieved that my sisters wouldn't have to face the decisions I would be faced with but at the same time I felt so alone. Learning my BRCA status was as much of a relief as it was a dark cloud hanging over me. I was so relieved to have the knowledge that my grandmother who was diagnosed with breast cancer, my two aunts that had both breast and ovarian cancer an my sweet cousin Kirstin who at age 31 was diagnosed with breast and ovarian cancer. I now had the knowledge to give me the power to make choices they never got to have. But that cloud still hung over me. I went to my doctor who told me I was paranoid and was choosing "female castration" when I told him I wanted to have my ovaries removed.

Than I found FORCE, a website for women just like me. Finally, I wasn't alone and I got the support I needed. We were all in the same boat and all facing decisions we didn't want to make. This website has been my main soure of support, research, comfort and security through this journey.

After some long days of research, praying and doctor visits (new doctor of course), I choose to have my ovaries removed. I'm 38 years old and althuogh I'm not close to menopause the thougt of not being here for my children was too much for me to bare.

On the day of my surgery , August 19th, my husband and I were in the waiting room patiently trying to wait for my name to be called and I was just so sad I was having to make this decision. Here I was a healthy 38 year old woman with no gynecological problems about to under go a 3 hour surgery to put me into surgical menopause for the rest of my life and this was all MY choice. I had freinds and family thinking I was over reacting. I would hear comments such as "you don't have cancer so why are you doing this". The tears were just strolling down my face as I waited. I knew I had to do this but why can't anyone understand how hard of a decision this is and just support me. My husband was so wonderful he just held my hand and told me I was doing the right thing. I was just so worried about what everyone else was going to think.

When I woke up in recovery and the nurse brought my husband in to see me he just looked and me and said everything was going to be fine and than held my hand and told me "Christina Applegate has the mutation too and had a double mastectomy". I just cried. I cried for her and the saddness she must have faced having to make that decision and I cried because now I had someone to have others look at as an example of what I was facing.

Now when I'm explaing to friends why I had my surgery and why someday soon I may have a mastectomy, I can say "You've heard about Christina Applegate and her mutation, well I have the same mutation as her".

So, thank you Christina for being so brave and coming forward during such a personal time in your life. You are an inspiration to me and many of my other FORCE friends!