{"id":6190,"date":"2013-12-01T18:35:14","date_gmt":"2013-12-02T00:35:14","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/wholehealthchicago.com\/?p=5936"},"modified":"2021-08-29T09:43:35","modified_gmt":"2021-08-29T14:43:35","slug":"angelina-jolie-brca-testing-and-you","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wholehealthchicago.com\/blog\/2013\/12\/01\/angelina-jolie-brca-testing-and-you","title":{"rendered":"Angelina Jolie, BRCA Testing, and You"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The extremely talented actress and director Angelina Jolie made world news last May when she revealed in a New York Times op-ed <\/a>that she\u2019d taken the proactive step of having both breasts removed to prevent dying of breast cancer, as her own mother had at age 56.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jolie had learned that she had a specific, inherited genetic defect that markedly increased her risk of breast and ovarian cancer. She had young children and a loving, supportive partner and wanted everyone to grow up and grow older together. She didn\u2019t want to be the missing grandmother, as her own mother had been.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As you remember from high school biology, we get our genes from each of our parents. \u00a0BRCA genes<\/a>, when operating correctly, are among the many systems in our body that actually protect us from certain cancers. However, when they contain small abnormalities, also inherited, the gene loses its protective ability and risks for certain cancers skyrocket. These abnormalities are called SNPs (single nucleotide polymorphisms, pronounced \u201cSNIPS\u201d), and a woman can inherit about 77 of them. The wrong combination of SNPs–making the BRCA gene a defective one–spells trouble.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Physicians told Jolie she had an 87% risk of developing breast cancer. It\u2019s the BRCA 1 and 2 genes that we know most about and, as in Jolie\u2019s situation, can actually do something about. Yes, there are other SNPs related to other cancers, but since we can\u2019t, for example, prophylactically remove our pancreases, all we can do is live our lives as healthfully as possible with the standard preventive techniques.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As a side note, we do know that low vitamin D levels are associated with increased breast and prostate cancer risks. It\u2019s now believed that vitamin D really shouldn\u2019t be thought of as just a vitamin, but rather as a unique molecule that acts by getting our genes to function better, protecting us from these cancers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A major breakthrough in genetic disease testing occurred in early 2013<\/b>
The US Supreme Court ruled against a company called Myriad Genetics, saying their discovery of the BRCA genes could not be patented. Before the ruling, Myriad had created a genetic testing monopoly and made the tests unaffordable to most Americans without the incomes of Angie and Brad. You can read the transcript of a PBS report on this decision here.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Obviously, other genetic testing companies were on tenterhooks awaiting this decision. At WholeHealth Chicago, we\u2019ve partnered with Ambry Genetics to offer BRCA testing to our patients. But please keep three important facts in mind before you consider BRCA testing:<\/p>\n\n\n\n