Knowledge is Power

By Kasey White

As I sat in the car on the way to my appointment to get my genetic testing results I told my husband that I was fully prepared to hear that I had the same genetic mutation that my father had. My father passed away of pancreatic cancer in 2017 and it was pretty devastating to our very close family.

I’m 35 and decided that I wanted to get genetic testing done so that I could do everything in my power to be as healthy as I can be for my daughter, husband and the rest of my family. Well it so happens that I had that specific gene (not Lynch) but also my OBGYN asked “Have you ever heard of Lynch Syndrome?” The crazy part is that my maiden name is Lynch and I honestly hadn’t heard of it and as I started to learn information it was pretty scary.

I eventually realized that knowledge is power and I started making important appointments and then had a total hysterectomy this year thanks to the support of my husband! It has been quite a journey but I try to feel empowered that I at least know what things can be done to help prevent or detect cancer early.