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Family shares importance of genetic testing for those at high risk for breast cancer gene

Last week, Governor Shapiro signed a bill into law that will require insurance companies to cover all costs associated with genetic testing for people at high risk for breast cancer genes.

Genetic testing was very important for a mother and daughter from Natrona Heights.

They’re sharing their incredibly personal journeys that are closely aligned and stem from a family history of rare breast cancer.

“I was like, I’m either going to do it now or I’m going to do it when I get cancer,” said daughter, Cailynn Madigan.

She and her mom, Susan, are recovering from double mastectomies.

“Watching my grandfather die was kind of the real big push for me to just do it,” said Cailynn.

Her grandfather passed away from breast cancer in 2015. Before he did, he tested positive for the BRCA gene mutation which increases the risk of breast, prostate and ovarian cancers. Doctors say once a parent is positive, there’s a 50% chance the children will be, too.

“Nobody wants to pass along something like that to their child,” said Susan.

But Susan found out she inherited the BRCA gene mutation from her father.

“Then, when Cailynn tested positive for it, we had a lot of talk. There was a lot of crying,” Susan recalls.

At 23 years old, Cailynn made the decision to have a preventative double mastectomy, and that pushed her mom to do it, too.

“Because I have so many people depending on me,” said Susan. “It was very important to me to do as much as I could to preserve my health.”

“They made the decision to support each other and make that a common journey. Even their surgeries were scheduled just one day apart,” said Dr. Andrea Moreira, a plastic surgeon and director of Breast Reconstruction at Allegheny Health Network.

Moreira did breast reconstruction surgery for the women last November, working in tandem with Dr. Alessia Tandin, who did their mastectomies first.

The AHN general and breast surgeon says doing a preventative mastectomy on someone with a BRCA gene mutation can bring down the risk of developing breast cancer by 90%.

Because if they don’t, Tandin says, " by the age of 70, they have 70% chances of developing breast cancer.”

And knowing that in Susan and Cailynn’s case: “When we see a male breast cancer, our senses are heightened because this is not a common disease,” said Tandin.

“There’s a lot of embarrassment for men when it comes to breast cancer because they don’t think they’re supposed to get it,” said Susan.

That is part of the reason Susan says her dad didn’t act right away when he first noticed discoloration in his chest and then lumps.

“He waited a year before he did anything about it. He was like ‘This is getting a lot bigger, I ought to go do something about this,’” recalled Susan.

By that time, Susan says it had gone into his lymph nodes and he needed a mastectomy before radiation and chemo.

“There’s a lot of sense of guilt when it comes around it, like we got the chance to be preventative about it and he never did,” said Cailynn.

But she and her mom have this message for everyone:

“Do your breast exams. Go see your doctor, even if you think it’s stupid or you think it’s a waste of time. It’s worth it because you could save your own life one day,” said Cailynn.

“And that goes for men and women,” added Susan.

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