Tracy Casey This is Me

 Web References

1. 1. www.brantfordexpositor.ca

   www.brantfordexpositor.ca/weba - [Cached]

   Published on: 5/12/2007   Last Visited: 5/12/2007

   Local News - 5/12/2007 @ 01:00 With a simple blood test, Diane Hunt gave the gift of foreknowledge to her daughter. Diane died one year ago, on May 11, but her daughter Tracy Casey, believes her mother’s legacy will help save her own life, and perhaps the lives of her daughter and grandchildren.
   ...
   Diane died one year ago, on May 11, but her daughter Tracy Casey, believes her mother's legacy will help save her own life, and perhaps the lives of her daughter and grandchildren.
   ...
   Another test showed that Tracy has the same mutation, meaning she has a predisposition to get the same horrible diseases that took her mother: an 80 per cent higher likelihood of getting breast cancer and a 60 per cent higher chance of getting ovarian cancer.
   
   Or at least, Tracy had a higher chance of getting breast cancer.
   
   These days she's smiling at the one per cent chance she's now facing.
   
   After wrestling with the three choices given to women who learn they have the gene in their bodies - chemicals, constant monitoring or removing all breast tissue - Tracy opted for a double mastectomy, performed in March.
   
   "They're just boobs," she said. "They were going to be the death of me if I kept them."
   
   Statistics show that Tracy, 36, would likely get breast cancer in her 40s and ovarian cancer sometime later.
   ...
   One of the things Tracy learned was that women with the mutation who opt for close monitoring end up terribly stressed by the process and after two or three years of follow-up tests and biopsies to investigate every little MRI shadow, they usually end up getting the mastectomies anyway.
   
   The other option of receiving a low dose of chemotherapy for the rest of her life was simply not palatable.
   ...
   Each week, Tracy goes to Hamilton to have 60 cc of saline injected into each bag, stretching the chest muscles.
   
   Eventually, the bags will be removed and replaced with breast implants, leaving her with a natural-looking chest.
   
   It's a drastic solution that Tracy talks about a lot. She manages more than 300 Avon representatives and the women often look first at her chest when they see her.
   
   "I'm not used to that but I say I'm still the same person. I'm just a little smaller for now. I've got five more pump-ups!"
   
   Tracy does more than just talk about breast cancer and the BRCA1 mutation. When Avon planted 140,000 pink tulips across Canada last year, she made sure the Brantford General Hospital had some for a breast cancer ribbon garden.
   
   On Thursday, Tracy handed over a $5,000 cheque to the hospital from Avon and helped with a lunch-time barbecue to raise more funds for the cause.
   
   She wants people to know about the simple blood test they can ask for, but she emphasizes that it's not recommended for everyone.
   
   "You can only get tested if there's a strong history of (breast or ovarian) cancer in the family - your mother, sister or aunt - and if your mom's living.
   
   "When my mom was getting chemo, we'd go together and I'd see other daughters there and a lot didn't know about the test."
   
   Tracy wouldn't have known either if it weren't for the fact she dabbled in genetics during her time as a student at Humber College.

2. 2. www.brantfordexpositor.ca

   www.brantfordexpositor.ca/weba - [Cached]

   Last Visited: 5/14/2007

   Diane died one year ago, on May 11, but her daughter Tracy Casey, believes her mother's legacy will help save her own life, and perhaps the lives of her daughter and grandchildren.
   ...
   Another test showed that Tracy has the same mutation, meaning she has a predisposition to get the same horrible diseases that took her mother: an 80 per cent higher likelihood of getting breast cancer and a 60 per cent higher chance of getting ovarian cancer.
   
   Or at least, Tracy had a higher chance of getting breast cancer.
   
   These days she's smiling at the one per cent chance she's now facing.
   
   After wrestling with the three choices given to women who learn they have the gene in their bodies - chemicals, constant monitoring or removing all breast tissue - Tracy opted for a double mastectomy, performed in March.
   
   "They're just boobs," she said. "They were going to be the death of me if I kept them."
   
   Statistics show that Tracy, 36, would likely get breast cancer in her 40s and ovarian cancer sometime later.
   ...
   One of the things Tracy learned was that women with the mutation who opt for close monitoring end up terribly stressed by the process and after two or three years of follow-up tests and biopsies to investigate every little MRI shadow, they usually end up getting the mastectomies anyway.
   
   The other option of receiving a low dose of chemotherapy for the rest of her life was simply not palatable.
   ...
   Each week, Tracy goes to Hamilton to have 60 cc of saline injected into each bag, stretching the chest muscles.
   
   Eventually, the bags will be removed and replaced with breast implants, leaving her with a natural-looking chest.
   
   It's a drastic solution that Tracy talks about a lot. She manages more than 300 Avon representatives and the women often look first at her chest when they see her.
   
   "I'm not used to that but I say I'm still the same person. I'm just a little smaller for now. I've got five more pump-ups!"
   
   Tracy does more than just talk about breast cancer and the BRCA1 mutation. When Avon planted 140,000 pink tulips across Canada last year, she made sure the Brantford General Hospital had some for a breast cancer ribbon garden.
   
   On Thursday, Tracy handed over a $5,000 cheque to the hospital from Avon and helped with a lunch-time barbecue to raise more funds for the cause.
   
   She wants people to know about the simple blood test they can ask for, but she emphasizes that it's not recommended for everyone.
   
   "You can only get tested if there's a strong history of (breast or ovarian) cancer in the family - your mother, sister or aunt - and if your mom's living.
   
   "When my mom was getting chemo, we'd go together and I'd see other daughters there and a lot didn't know about the test."
   
   Tracy wouldn't have known either if it weren't for the fact she dabbled in genetics during her time as a student at Humber College.