1/27/11 - Pro-Active

Today was my appointment with the "Patient Navigator" is what her card says.  We discussed my family medical history then she laid out my Genetic Risk Assessment.  Because my grandmother and I had Kidney Cancer - it puts me (and my family) at a higher risk category.  Without the genetic testing, I won't know just how proactive I should be with my MRI/CT scans I need to be, what my percentages of developing it again on the other side and what the rest of the family should be aware of.  Testing would mainly help my kids, mom and her siblings because my type of Kidney Cancer doesn’t normally skip a generation.

It's all a big IF in the genetic testing world but being in the know is the first line of defense.  Just like if you have breast cancer in the family, then you start mammograms sooner.  Well, it’s the same with Kidney Cancer; you start your scans sooner.  The survival rate is much higher when they find the tumors early - like mine.

The next step is seeing how much insurance will cover of this expensive genetic testing.  You would think if they can know ahead of time my risks, they would want to cover the test to prevent it with early/frequent scans.  If insurance doesn't cover it - then I guess we will all stay in the dark and hope regular MRI's will be enough.  My doctor is going to scan me regularly anyway (for a while at least), I think after the testing it gives the doctor a better idea how many years and how often the scans will need to be scheduled.  I'd like to do the testing for my kids and mom - it would be good to be in the know.