A Williamson nurse who learned she carries a BRCA2 gene mutation is sharing how the result changed her cancer-screening plan and opened an option for her two adult daughters to be tested.
Tracey Zimmerman, a care manager at Newark-Wayne Community Hospital, enrolled in Rochester Regional Health's no-cost GenoWell genetic-screening program after seeing it promoted at an employee picnic. In her account published by the health system, Zimmerman said she had been considering testing because a relative had told her she carried a BRCA2 mutation.
A blood test through the program confirmed that Zimmerman carries a mutation in the gene. The National Cancer Institute says harmful inherited BRCA2 mutations can increase the risk of several cancers, including breast and ovarian cancer. A positive result does not mean a person has cancer or will necessarily develop it; decisions about additional testing and care depend on individual and family history.
Zimmerman said family experience shaped her decision. Her stepsister was diagnosed with breast cancer at 36 and died at 42. Zimmerman also described cancer deaths among women on her father's side of the family, including her grandmother and two aunts. A stepsibling's medical history is not itself evidence of inherited genetic risk, but Zimmerman's account says she was aware of a BRCA2-positive relative before she was screened.
After receiving the result, she added breast magnetic resonance imaging to her screening plan. She said she now alternates a mammogram and a breast MRI every six months. That schedule reflects her own care plan, not a screening recommendation for everyone.
Her positive result also made her daughters eligible for no-cost clinical family-variant testing through GenoWell, according to Rochester Regional Health. Saliva-collection kits were mailed to them because they live out of town. Zimmerman said she has discussed her experience with both daughters while leaving their health decisions to them; the health system did not report either daughter's test result.
Zimmerman works with patients to arrange safe discharges from Newark-Wayne Community Hospital. She said she wanted to lead by example for her daughters and advocate in memory of her stepsister. She described her new screening plan as a way to be more informed about her health while continuing ordinary family visits and travel.
GenoWell is a community health research program offering no-cost genetic screening, according to Rochester Regional Health. People interested in the program can review its eligibility and testing details through the health system's GenoWell information and discuss whether genetic counseling or testing is appropriate with a clinician.
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