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Veeder14's Story
"I had genetic counseling and am from Ashkenazi lineage. I was tested for BRCA and am BRCA2-positive. By the time the test came back positive, I already had melanoma, and apparently I already had breast cancer (but didn't know it until an MRI last November). So there's definitely a link between melanoma and breast cancer. I got tested just in time so that increased diagnostic tests can be done and insurance pays, otherwise the breast cancer would still be unknown.
"Interestingly enough my surgeon said that the profile of my cancer was not an aggressive cancer due to BRCA. So I asked, 'Why did I get breast cancer, was it just the family connection?' He said that I'm an average female in the Bay Area (where breast cancer rates are higher).
"My mom and sister both tested positive for BRCA2. Of course the test wasn't around when my grandmother was alive, and she didn't have breast cancer. So I wonder why my generation and my mom's generation have it?"
-- Veeder14, tested positive for the BRCA2 genetic mutation
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