START HERE: BRCA Gene Mutation?

So, I've decided to use this blog to explain some of the medical stuff I've been navigating. I know that next to nobody reads this, so it's mostly a way for me to purge some of the info, emotions, and experiences I'm having. And maybe educate someone else :)

I have the BRCA1 gene mutation. Everyone (male & female) has the BRCA gene, also known as the breast cancer gene. This gene basically makes the breast and ovarian cells strong cancer fighters. So, if a persons BRCA gene is mutated, their breast and ovarian cells are NOT cancer fighters. As "life" happens, someone with this mutation is incredibly susceptible to getting breast and ovarian cancer (also prostate and pancreatic), and at a young age. This is because their cells aren't able to repair DNA and fight off these cancers, compared to most people with regular BRCA genetic makeup. 

Anyone who has this gene mutation, male or female, has a 50% chance of passing it along to their children. My dad has the mutation. And so does his dad. We discovered all of this when my aunt (my dads sister) got breast cancer at a young age. This was sometime around 2006. Huntsman Cancer Institute was doing research about the BRCA gene mutation and asked our family to be involved in a study. Note: my great grandmother (dads dads mother) died of ovarian cancer at a young age. 

Huntsman provided genetic counseling and testing to my grandfather. They discovered that he indeed carries the BRCA1 gene mutation. They then tested his 3 daughters (my dads 3 sisters) and my dad. 2 of the 3 sisters have the mutation and so does my dad. Then they tested the female children (over 18) of those with the mutation. I got the news that I carry this gene mutation nearly 10 years ago, in 2007. I have two sisters who have been tested, and (thankfully) neither of them have the mutation.

And that's all for now. This is exhausting :)