April 14, 2019: DNA

Before DNA there was BRCA1.  In 2002 my then 23-year-old niece heard a radio announcement about self-exams, so she did one.  She found a lump.  She was not the first breast cancer patient in our family.  In the 50’s my dad’s two sisters had breast cancer, had surgery, and lived good, long lives.  Then in 1990 my dad was diagnosed with breast cancer.  Because of her family history genetic testing was suggested for Donna, and she was diagnoses with what they called the Ashkenazi Jewish breast cancer gene.  She was asked about her background, and she reported her grandfather’s family had always been Catholic, but they did originate from Poznan, where the gene was thought to originate.  A year later, her mother had breast cancer, so her mom Rose, and 3 of Roses 5 siblings elected to have genetic testing. Rose has the gene,  Linda and I don’t have the gene. My brother Jim does.   Since that time, 2 of his 3 daughters have had breast cancer.  He has had prostate cancer, which is linked to the same gene.

 In total, my dad, his two sisters, four of his nieces, one daughter and 3 granddaughters have had breast cancer.  His two brothers, and his son have had prostate cancer. That is a lot of cancer from a gene linked to the Jewish people, of which we had no knowledge. 

Then came the DNA.   My two sisters, one with the gene, one without, took the ancestry DNA test.  Linda shows no Jewish. Rose showed 2%.  According to the geneticists at Karmanos Cancer Center in Detroit, that would be 4 generations removed from us.  Thanks to the Poznan Marriage Project, we found our Jewish Grandmother.  Her name was Regina and she was born in 1786, Her surname was listed as Judenniaczynka, which was not really a surname, but a designation of her Jewish heritage. The gene was passed down through our paternal Great Grandmother Katarczyna Gic. She did not have cancer. We have no knowledge of further back than that.

The positive side of all this breast cancer is that no one has died from it.  We have fought a good fight and have emerged victorious and pray that the healing continues.  The genetic testing told us which gene was affecting our family, and the DNA testing told us where it came from.  Isn’t science wonderful?