Laura Kieger became an advocate for those with rare cancers when she learned members of her family carried the APC gene mutation.  Her family learned of the mutation after her mother was diagnosed with colorectal cancer.  The combination of her mother’s diagnosis and learned of the mutation resulted in her siblings going in not only for colonoscopies, but also for upper GI endoscopies, which examine the duodenal and periampullary areas.  Whereas at the time of her mother’s diagnosis, treatment consisted of chemotherapy and radiation treatment, today there are options including immunology and anti-inflammatories, such as naproxen to keep the polyp burden down.

 

How rare is APC gene mutation?  Kieger says perhaps one in 10,000 individuals may have it.  Nonetheless, once her family learned about the mutation, she went in for a colonoscopy at age 13.  Based on that procedure and other colonoscopies going into young adulthood, doctors told Laura it looked like she didn’t carry the gene; but because at that time there was no specific genetic test, so she had to keep going in frequently for more colonoscopies.

 

Laura Kieger says there are some who are skeptical about genetic testing; but she believes anyone who has been told they would benefit from genetic testing and chooses not to, does so at their peril.  She cites Lynch Syndrome, which can exist in one out of 280 individuals.  If one has family members diagnosed with cancers, but doesn’t have cancer themselves, and avoids genetic testing, they could be walking around with Lynch Syndrome and not know it; but by undergoing genetic testing, one can learn they have Lynch Syndrome or another type of cancer, become what Laura calls a ‘previvor,’ meaning they have an opportunity to get in front of cancer, and with any type of cancer, early detection is so important. 

 

In Laura’s case, she became a previvor when a doctor told her she didn’t have the gene mutation that beset many members of her family, but thanks to genetic testing, she learned she had a villous adenoma, a pre-cancerous growth in her colon that had to come out along with part of her colon.

 

Because of the ensuing surgery, Laura Kieger says she can do she can physically do just about anything she could do, pre-surgery.

 

Additional Resources:

 

Website: https://www.laurakieger.com

 

Book: “Summer’s Complaint,” available on Amazon

 

Twitter: lkiegerauthor