Can you get breast & ovarian cancer after a preventative mastectomy & oophorectomy? - study said you can

YOUR GENETIC IS NOT YOUR DESTINY

I have a new patient this week, a 39-year-old woman with history of breast cancer underwent mastectomy and chemotherapy. She carries BRCA2 gene. For preventative measure, she underwent total hysterectomy putting her on surgical menopause - at 39 years old.

In the effort to reduce her risk of cancer, she is now on all symptoms of menopause and at higher risk of menopause related conditions at 39 years old. My heart goes with her, I told her she was a brave woman to decide to take out her healthy ovaries.

Cancer is a devastating disease; I have seen it closest to my soul with my loved ones experienced it including my bestest friend and my dearest mom. Science says that genetic code like BRCA 1 BRCA 2 etc plays 20% of one’s risk of getting cancer, but those without the cancer gene still can get cancer, because 80% risk is determined by lifestyle that interact with other systems in our body. My mother had breast cancer, the first one was found on screening, the metastasis was 25 years later. She was living a good life for 25 years cancer free and she does not have BRCA1 BRCA2 genes. 

What I am here to share is my opinion - based on the theory I know and studies I found backed that up, preventative surgery - be it mastectomy or oophorectomy - can reduce the risk to a very low risk but not to zero risk. So, I believe, be mindful to your lifestyle and your estrogen metabolism is still holding 80% key of developing cancer - any cancer. 

When a woman chose to have oophorectomy - surgery to remove her ovaries in the hope that no more estrogen, she will reduce her likelihood of estrogen related cancer like breast, ovarian, uterine to a very low risk, some studies reported 95% reduction. However, three points - first, while it is possible to remove 100% of your breast and ovaries surgically, there is no guarantee whatsoever that you removed 100% of breast and ovaries cells from your body, second, we produce three type of estrogen, the worst estrogen, called estrone, is not produced in the ovary, it is produced by fat cells and adrenal and some other organs to a lesser extent, so the 5% chance to have those cancer is still there.  Last point, since estrogen has a huge protective effect on the 12 systems of our body, not having enough estrogen whatever the reason may be, these 12 systems would be negatively impacted.  

What I want to emphasise here is that we know estrogen is related to cancer, it does not matter if your estrogen is high or low. 

What I need to encourage you all is to stay vigilant, walk a good lifestyle, start with a good diet and a good sleep, follow by exercise, avoiding toxins like alcohol and drugs, manage stress, and above all, have faith, rest it all up to The Almighty. This is where good lifestyle can be your medicine. With this, we can hope that we do the best in reducing our risk of all diseases including cancer. But we plan He plans, and He is the best of planners, right?

I wish everyone a good life, a healthier inside out...