# Breast cancer rears its ugly head **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [July 4, 2008, 1:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breast-cancer-rears-its-ugly-head/455291 "2008-07-04T13:26:29Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![spamforbrains](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e274bd/32.png) [@spamforbrains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/spamforbrains)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2016, 12:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breast-cancer-rears-its-ugly-head/455291/41 "2016-03-19T00:26:02Z")
> [@](#): > > On a side note, your wife and other direct female relatives of the sister may want to look into getting tested for the BRCA gene mutations that indicate a higher breast cancer risk. It is unusual for women to have breast cancer at such a young age, and when that does occur it MAY indicate the person has a genetic predisposition to it Did you do this? Because this a really good idea. Breast cancer at age 29 is almost always linked to a genetic predisposition. If you find out you have a BRCA gene mutation there are a lot of things you can do to protect yourself. The most effective is removal of the ovaries, which is done via a simple lap op and does cause infertility but it’s extremely effective. You can also have prophylactic mastectomies, but that doesn’t prevent ovarian cancer and removing the ovaries is quite effective in preventing both ovarian and breast cancer (breast cancer is treatable; ovarian cancer is pretty much not). Alternatively, you can opt for vigorous screening with MRI and ultrasound. ---
**Author:** ![Helena330](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/helena330/32/531_2.png) [@Helena330](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Helena330)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2016, 11:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breast-cancer-rears-its-ugly-head/455291/42 "2016-03-19T23:18:32Z")
Wow, what great news! I hope she has a wonderful, long life. ---
**Author:** ![F.Pu-du-he-pa-as](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/c89c15/32.png) [@F.Pu-du-he-pa-as](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/F.Pu-du-he-pa-as)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2016, 3:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breast-cancer-rears-its-ugly-head/455291/43 "2016-03-20T03:56:35Z")
What great news! I was reading this thread with **oft wears hats** and we were both really upset that this had happened to you and your sister-in-law and your whole family. But yay! What a happy continuation of the story. Best wishes for the future! ---
**Author:** ![edwardcoast](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/cab0a1/32.png) [@edwardcoast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/edwardcoast)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2016, 4:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breast-cancer-rears-its-ugly-head/455291/44 "2016-03-20T04:40:54Z")
Very sorry to read this. ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2016, 2:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breast-cancer-rears-its-ugly-head/455291/45 "2016-03-20T14:59:04Z")
> [@edwardcoast](#): > > Very sorry to read this. Psssst! It’s a zombie thread, revived because of good news. > [@TokyoBayer](#): > > Resurrecting this thread to say that my sister-in-law is still going strong almost eight years later. > > My wife had her lump removed a couple of years ago, and it was benign. She’s pissed because she has a scar, but that was the least of my concerns. ---
**Author:** ![TokyoBayer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tokyobayer/32/13989_2.png) [@TokyoBayer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TokyoBayer)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2016, 10:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breast-cancer-rears-its-ugly-head/455291/46 "2016-03-21T10:28:13Z")
> [@pidgeon92](#): > > Wow, this is great news. Had it actually spread as far as they originally thought? It had and she has been on some sort of regimen the entire time. She doesn’t discuss it so we don’t really know all the details. > [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](#): > > Psssst! It’s a zombie thread, revived because of good news. I worried about that and apologize to anyone who was confused. ---
**Author:** ![not\_what\_you\_d\_expect](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/not_what_you_d_expect/32/3246_2.png) [@not\_what\_you\_d\_expect](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/not_what_you_d_expect)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2016, 10:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breast-cancer-rears-its-ugly-head/455291/47 "2016-03-21T10:51:22Z")
Terrific update. So glad to hear. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breast-cancer-rears-its-ugly-head/455291.md?page=2)