The Silent Teachers

I saw this post from Olivia Lagoy Weltz on the Gram and thought this was so perfect. It reminded me of Hampton and so many of our horses. Such important creatures.

The road to the Grand Prix and the international arena is a long one full of many ups and downs. It takes a village to get there, and in that village are the horses that the world may never know. They may have just one gift, or many gifts, but they all have something to offer. These amazing teachers come in all shapes and sizes and sometimes you find them in the place you least expect it. Few of these horses will ever become international horses themselves but their place in our lives and our journey is invaluable. To the silent teachers, the horses the world may never know, but without whom there would be no journey.

Human gets a vet check

Hamp and I are a team, and while he is definitely the most spoiled of the team members sometimes you have to care for the human, too.

With the recent, shocking, news that another direct family member has been diagnosed with cancer, I decided it was probably in my best interest to have some genetic testing done. Especially since I now have two direct family members with hormone receptive cancers (my dad had prostate cancer that reoccurred and metastasized, eventually killing him). 

No one should ever have to walk into this building.
It was so busy with patients it broke my heart.

The first part of the appointment was really simple. I met with a lovely genetic counselor who gave me her speech about genetics and what that means as far as chances of developing cancer. She answered my questions, and then drew out a family tree and where there was cancer in my family.

That was alarming to say the least.

Here's a list of cancers in my family (grandparents, aunts, uncles, parents, siblings. Did not go out further than that).

• Prostate cancer
• Glioblastoma
• Lymphoma
• Cancer of salivary glands
• ovarian cancer (diagnosed young)
• Cancer in the spine
• Melanoma

It was pretty much all over both sides of the family. Eeeks. But the most concerning is the ovarian and prostate cancer since those can be more associated with gene mutations. Interestingly, there is no history of breast cancer in the family. Go us!

A list of gene mutations I will be tested for,
and what cancers they can be associated with

Looking at my history, she did recommend I get the screening done. I agreed.

All I am looking for is information. I could have gene mutations, and never get cancer. Or, I could have no mutations and get cancer anyway. But should I be positive for certain mutations (like the famous BRCA genes), I can reduce my chances of cancer by 90% or so with preventative actions like frequent screening or even surgery.

Cost? The genetic counselor told me most insurance covers this, and no one ever pays more than $200 for a screening. And that's the broad spectrum one. I chose to focus mostly on breast and ovarian cancers, so it will be cheaper if I even have to pay anything.

Results will take about two weeks. *cue Jeopardy music*

Otherwise Hamp and I are just surviving midwest winter!