Check Out My Heart!

This morning I had an echocardiogram to check on my heart health before I begin my treatment. Cancer treatment can sometimes be hard on the heart, so getting a good picture of my current heart health will help us identify if there are any changes over time.

This was, of course, another opportunity to geek out a little bit. The 'echo' is an ultrasound of the heart. It took about 30 minutes to take the required images. They gather information about the heart muscle, the valves, and blood flow. After all of the images and videos were collected, the technician showed me a whole bunch of them. To look at blood flow they use doppler imaging, so the colour of something (in this case blood) moving towards the probe is different than the colour of something moving away from the probe. Very cool to see. I wish I had an image to share with you. 

I got a peek at several different parts of my heart including a really nice cross-section of my aortic valve (which is a normal, healthy tricuspid valve...did you know some people have bicuspid aortic valves?...I learned something new today). Afterwards I took this very quick video of the image that was still on the screen. It's most of my heart, but upside-down. You can see the valves between the top and bottom chambers of the heart flapping away. Isn't it neat? 

Yesterday I had a phone call with a clinical research coordinator from Women's College Hospital. I have enrolled in a study called "Rapid Genetic Testing for Newly Diagnosed Breast Cancer Patients" which allows me to have genetic testing done immediately. This study looks specifically at 9 different gene mutations linked to increased risk of breast cancer. They have already put a saliva collection kit in the mail which I will receive today. I will be contacted by a genetic counsellor with the results in just a couple of weeks; turnaround time is not usually this fast for genetic testing. The purpose of the study is to determine how early genetic testing influences treatment options and outcomes. If I am found to have any of the higher-risk mutations, it may have implications for surgical decisions as well as long-term screening for breast cancer as well as other cancers.

I just finished watching an informational video about the study. In the part where they explain the process of receiving results they included this graphic about the three possible outcomes of the testing. Can you guess why it made me laugh? (Particularly hearing the narrator saying it out loud?) I will award anyone who knows. Not sure yet what the prize will be, but at the very least you will have earned a special place in my heart this week. ;)