Research Journal Entry #9- University 106

Citation added:
Simchoni, Sharon, Eitan Friedman, Bella Kaufman, Ruth Gershoni-Baruch, Avi Orr-Urteger, Inbal Kedar-Barnes, Ronit Shiri-Sverdlov, Efrat Dagan, Sigal Tsbari, Mordechai Shohat, Raphael Catane, Mary-Claire King, Amnon Lahad, and Ephrat Levy-Lahad. "Familial Clustering of Site-Specific Cancer Risks Associated with BRCA1 and BRCA2 Mutations in the Ashkenazi Jewish Population." Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 103 (2006): 3770-774. JSTOR.org. National Academy of Sciences. Albertsons Library, Boise. 15 Apr. 2009. Web.

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First of all, I did not realize there were that many databases!!! Amazing! My most recent essay was about the BRCA1 & 2 genes. If the woman has either of the genes, it predisposes them to developing breast cancer to up to 86% and ovarian cancer up to 60%! When I was writing the paper and doing all the research, the numbers & stats were absolutely staggering! While I was doing that particular research, I kept coming across this information about the Ashkenazi Jewish population, and how they are the one ethnicity that seems to be even more at risk. This is very interesting to me. I read a lot about this, and still seem to be asking “why”? For some reason the women who originate from this particular area of the world, are at a higher risk of developing breast or ovarian cancer. What about their DNA predisposes them to this? This begs the question of if there is an environmental piece to whether a woman’s gene will mutate and then in turn develop breast cancer. Is there some chemical, some type of food, something all these women were exposed to, what could it be? What is the link and if it happened to this particular group, can it happen again? Is it something that passed down genetically, or is it “in the water”? I’m also wondering why not other groups of women in neighboring areas near the Ashkenazi Jewish women, aren’t at such a risk. So if this gene is so prevalent in this group, is there a group that is not at such a high risk? What can be done to find out this information? I guess just time and testing of as many women as possible will give us the information and data we so desperately need to really find out the what’s and why’s of the BRCA genes. Along the same lines, what can be done to raise awareness about BRCA genetic testing. Knowledge is power and the more you know, the better you can handle your body and the challenges. To me the chance of developing breast cancer up to 86% is ridiculously high. To figure out what can be done to either change this, learn more about this or stop the mutation, seems vital to discovering a cure for breast cancer.