Vim & Vigor - Fall 2021 - 6

6
STOPPING
CANCER
BEFORE IT STARTS
Genetic testing and
advanced surgical
techniques give
LaDawn Knicely a future
her grandmother and
great-grandmother
never had
BY HOLLY COOPER FORD
W
hen her grandmother
was diagnosed
with breast
cancer, LaDawn Knicely was
young. " We lived next door to
her, so I spent every free moment
I could at her house; we sewed,
cooked and baked together, "
Knicely recalls. " I was probably
11 or 12 when she got breast
cancer. She got one breast
removed and then the other.
I so vividly remember the prosthetics
she wore. Eventually, the cancer spread
throughout her body. She was in her 50s when
she passed away. I was devastated. "
Knicely's grandmother wasn't the fi rst
woman in the family to battle breast cancer,
nor the last. Her great-grandmother also died
of the disease at an early age. But it was her
aunt's diagnosis last year that forced Knicely
to dig deeper into what a strong family history
of the disease could mean for herself, her
sister and her daughter.
" I had always done my annual Pap test
and mammogram, but I wasn't aware of
genetic testing until my aunt was diagnosed
with breast cancer. Th at's when my sister
and I decided to get tested for BRCA, " Knicely
says. " She was negative. I was positive. "
FALL 2021 VIM & VIGOR
What Is BRCA?
BRCA1 and BRCA2 are
genes we all carry-both
men and women-that protect
us against cancer. In short, we
want these genes. Th ey are doing
good things. Sometimes, however,
these genes are mutated.
" A BRCA-positive diagnosis
means that there is a
change or mutation in the
BRCA gene's DNA that is
causing the gene to function
abnormally, and so it's no
longer doing its job, " says UVA
Health certifi ed genetic counselor
Martha Th omas.
The Numbers That Matter
If a woman tests positive for the
BRCA1 mutation, she has up to
an 87 percent chance of developing
breast cancer in her lifetime;
in contrast, women who
are BRCA negative have a 12 percent chance
of having the disease. A woman's risk of developing
ovarian cancer is as high as 54 percent
if she tests positive for the BRCA1 mutation;
the risk is less than 2 percent for those without
the mutation.
For 50-year-old Knicely, these statistics
were a wake-up call. " When I heard the
percentages, how signifi cantly this mutation
increases your risk for cancer, that really resonated
with me, " she says.
Removing All Doubt
Knicely makes a living as a real estate agent
in Dayton, Virginia. She also volunteers as
a pastoral counselor and helps her parents
run a cattle and sheep farm, liſt ing 50-pound
PHOTO BY JACKSON SMITH PHOTOGRAPHY

Vim & Vigor - Fall 2021

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Vim & Vigor - Fall 2021

Contents
Vim & Vigor - Fall 2021 - Cover1
Vim & Vigor - Fall 2021 - Cover2
Vim & Vigor - Fall 2021 - Contents
Vim & Vigor - Fall 2021 - 2
Vim & Vigor - Fall 2021 - 3
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