Christina Applegate Battles Breast Cancer

Christina Applegate is a well known actress who has been working since she was an infant doing baby food commercials. She has played many roles which capitalized on her blonde hair. Her career really started to take off after she played the sex kitten dumb blonde on Married with Children. At this time she is playing the role of a cute funny blonde with a baby face on Samantha Who. She is the star of this show which has already received rave reviews. Her innocence and intelligent funny personality of her character has made the show a success in such a short amount of time.

ABC news has reported that Christina's mother is a breast cancer survivor and since Christina tested positive for the breast cancer gene she has taken screening very seriously by keeping up with her appointments. This has certainly paid off because she is now cancer free due to early detection. She made the decision to undergo a double mastectomy. Both breasts were removed and she will be getting reconstructive surgery over the next year. Having the surgery was very emotionally difficult for Christina but she did it because she chose life over her breasts. Even though she only had cancer in one breast she made the decision to have both of them removed. She is a fighter and she wants to continue to live by winning the war on cancer. She has even made jokes about it saying that she will have good looking boobs when she is an old lady because of the reconstructive surgery.

Christina Applegate is only 36 years old, so her cancer diagnosis came as a shock to many people. It is hard to believe that someone so young could get breast cancer. She has certain risk factors which have helped her to stay on the ball. Early breast cancer runs in her family, and she hasn't had any children. She was well aware of the risks so she always takes what her doctors say seriously. Christina is a good example to all of us when it comes to many things, and she is certainly encouraging other women to take charge of their own health care.

How do you know if you have the breast cancer gene?

Christina was tested for the breast cancer gene because of her family history. Women and men can both have the breast cancer gene. According to the genetic interest group, the breast cancer gene is called BRCA1 and BRCA2. This stands for breast cancer gene 1 and 2. People who have this gene are also at an increased risk for ovarian cancer. The genetic interest group also says that screening should still continue even if a person doesn't have the gene because only 4 to 10 percent of diagnoses made every year are linked to the gene. The breast cancer gene is only one risk factor. In order to find out if you have the breast cancer gene you will need to get tested by your doctor and speak with a genetic counselor because not all mutations carry the same risk factors. Some mutations are even more serious.

October is breast cancer awareness month so please stay tuned for more articles about breast cancer, early detection, lifestyle factors, how to have healthy breast tissue and more. I have lost two people to breast cancer on my husband's side of the family and I take cancer very seriously.