I found this breast cancer risk assessment tool online. I took it based on me before my diagnosis and I was considered as having a 1.3% chance of getting breast cancer, vs. a norm of 1%. I took it again, based on my current age and pretended I didn't have breast cancer, and I would also have a 1.3% chance of getting breast cancer vs. a norm of 1.3%.
I then tried taking it and answering the first question and said I previously had a breast cancer diagnosis and the tool could not compute as it is not designed for those with a cancer diagnosis. We are in a special group, we are off the charts.
Then I started plugging in the information for friends and family members to see the impact of my diagnosis on them. I was surprised how much of a difference it made. Because of my diagnosis, their risk has increased by at least 50%. Go check it out and see how you can figure out your risk and everyone you know. Its kind of interesting to see how little factors have impact.
Yes I do know there are all those other little pesky factors that must have put me in that 1.3% instead of the 98.7%. Obviously I drank too much, smoked too much, ate too much fried food, used too much plastic, played in contaminated swamp lands, didn't take vitamins, etc. that put me in the wrong group. Grr.
2 comments:
Caroline that is incredible. My mom's old friend was diagnosed with breast cancer more than 8 years ago. Fortunately because they caught it early, she pulled through. Still I'm all about learning the facts of breast cancer early.
I just wanted to say thank you Caroline for providing such solid resources. Your story is a compelling one, and for that reason I have done some of my own research. I came across an interesting story about breast cancer recurrence. This article discussed how many breast cancer survivors ended up struggling with the anxiety over their cancer coming back. Is this something that you have heard about?
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