[Cure4Cat]

Rob,

I am so sorry to hear about your daughter-in-law. My heart goes out to you and her family. I realize that your granddaughter is only 15 but I believe it is a good idea to look into options now. I agree with Suzan about the genetic testing. It is only a blood test and will help her to make decisions on preventative measures when she is ready. I would also try to get her into a screening program when she turned 20, if possible. Mammograms will likely not detect anything given her age but they could potentially do MRIs. I had just turned 31 at diagnosis and had no breast cancer in my family. My surgeon said it had likely been there for years. (I was stage 2b/3 at diagnosis.) My cancer was not detected by a mammogram either. Something suspicious was detected by ultrasound and then confirmed to be cancer through a biopsy and MRI. I am not trying to scare you or your granddaughter. I truly believe the earlier you catch it the better your odds and I just want to make sure that she has the odds in her favour. I have a community of young survivors in my town that get together once a month and there are about 30 of us in our 20s and 30s. The youngest person I know of was 22 years old at diagnosis. Finally, she should make sure to do breast exams monthly. All of the young survivors I know of found the lumps themselves and went in for testing as many were too young to be in screening programs. I hope this helps!

Cat