As someone who has experienced a lot of cancer in her family, 特蕾西 Simons has always been ultra-vigilant about her health, knowing that the possibility of it impacting her at some point in her lifetime was likely.
“On my mother’s side of the family, we’ve seen brain, 胰腺 and uterine,特蕾西说. “但在我父亲这边，这是一个谜.”
When she spoke about her family history of cancer with Deidre Arms, 中国出版集团, 兰开斯特妇女综合健康中心的主任, she was intrigued to learn that the office offered genetic testing, which can estimate a patient’s likelihood of developing cancer in their lifetime. 测试, 这是通过简单的血液测试来完成的吗, 搜索特定更改, 称为突变, 在病人的基因里, 染色体或蛋白质.
While a genetic test cannot confirm whether a patient will develop cancer, 它可以预测病人患某种疾病的风险, as well as uncover genes that may pass an increased cancer risk on to the patient’s children.
特蕾西选择接受基因检测, which revealed that she did in fact have an unidentified mutation on the gene. A colonoscopy and further testing revealed a devastating diagnosis – stage 3 colon cancer.
“Deidre was my saving grace; had the genetic testing not been recommended to me, 癌症很可能直到我50岁才被发现,特蕾西说, who was 47 when she was diagnosed and has been in remission since January. “到那时，我可能会有一个完全不同的结果.”
Laurianne Scott, D.O., 妇女综合保健中心主任, said 考虑基因检测 when reviewing a patient’s family and health history. 结肠, 胰腺, 乳腺癌和子宫癌, 还有恶性黑色素瘤, 所有类型的癌症都可能是遗传的吗. If the patient is under the age of 50 and has a family history of those types of cancers, 个人癌症病史或未知的家族病史, 考虑基因检测.
“Knowing family history is important because it helps your healthcare provider individualize your care based on certain diseases that have a genetic predisposition,” Dr. 斯科特说. 在特蕾西的例子中, her compliance and receptiveness to have genetic testing done as well as her willingness to follow recommendations based on her genetic test results led to an early diagnosis of her disease.”
Early cases of colon cancer typically begin as noncancerous polyps that don’t cause symptoms, 但可以通过结肠镜检查检测到. When symptoms do occur, they vary depending on the size and location of the cancer. Some commonly experienced symptoms include changes in bowel habits and stool consistency, 便血和腹部不适.
特蕾西, 谁的肿瘤位于盲肠, 或者是大肠的开始, said she had been experiencing fatigue and pain in her right side prior to her cancer diagnosis, but she had attributed it to a recent diagnosis of diverticulitis.
“I didn’t have any visible bleeding or changes in bowel habits, which are typically the most common warning signs of colon cancer,特蕾西说.
特蕾西 opted to do her treatment at 澳门新葡新京 so she could be close to home. She underwent a colectomy, in which a third of her colon was removed. Through it all, she remained strong with the help of her cancer care team.
“That was a hard time for me; if there is a side effect to anything – surgery, 药物治疗, 一种疾病, 我明白了,特蕾西说, who had to take leave from her job while undergoing chemotherapy. “Luckily the care I received at 澳门新葡新京 was wonderful.”
特蕾西 was impressed by the attention she received in the hospital, 无论是手术后还是化疗期间. She said all of the nurses were attentive and her oncologist, Kanjawalit Singh, M.D. did a great job of explaining the next steps of her treatment, 甚至画画来帮助她理解.
“I have had surgeries at other hospitals and 融合 is by far the best,特蕾西说. “在过去, 我发现当你回到你的房间, 由于人手不足，护理水平下降了, 但这里的情况并非如此. The pre-op was great, the doctors were very nice and the care was exceptional.”
特蕾西 said one of the hardest parts of her cancer journey was being away from her job. 特蕾西 is a program specialist for AEP’s ReCreation Land Park, a 52,920-acre outdoor recreation area in McConnelsville built on land once strip mined for coal. She also volunteers her time taking care of wildlife at Hocking College. 后来她又回到了工作岗位, 在那个时候, has taken on a new role in her personal life – educating others about the importance of knowing their family history and the warning signs of colon cancer.
“My advice is to advocate for yourself and find a doctor who listens to you,特蕾西说. “All of my doctors listened to me and were on top of it every step of the way.”
To learn more about genetic testing or the Women’s Comprehensive 健康 Center, contact Dr. 斯科特办公室，740-689-2079.
注意
Family history is significant when it comes to determining your risk for developing colorectal cancer in your lifetime and, 和任何癌症一样, 及早发现是关键. “结肠癌很容易被发现, 甚至可以预防, 采取适当的筛查措施,玛格丽特·索耶说, M.D.他是普通外科协会的主任. “结肠镜检查, 主要筛选工具, is usually not difficult and there are much easier prep options available today. 不幸的是，即使没有家族病史, 我们都有患结肠癌的风险, 即使在年轻的时候. Because of this, the age to begin colon cancer screening has been lowered to 45. Be sure to discuss the new screening guidelines with your doctor and get screened. “