Jewish Health
Feelings about diagnosis
Karen was unaware that Ovarian cancer was prevalent in Ashkenazi Jewish women and was shocked when she was diagnosed with it.
Karen was unaware that Ovarian cancer was prevalent in Ashkenazi Jewish women and was shocked when she was diagnosed with it.
So, you know, it’s a shock. You never ever in a million years think it’s going to be you. And I didn’t know until I got it and started hearing that this one’s got it, and that one’s got it. People that my friends know, you know, I wasn’t aware that it was actually quite prolific in Ashkenazi Jewish people. I just, I just you wouldn’t know. No ideas. Never had been sent anything about it or… I wasn’t even aware of the symptoms. You know, had I been aware of the symptoms and I might have been a bit more pushy at my original doctors, but I certainly would have been a bit more concerned at my new doctors, but because I wasn’t aware it was masked by the fact that I had this prolapse, you know, which could have caused the problem. So it was… I really think doctors need to do the blood test first and foremost to rule it out instantly.
Sheila never thought that she would die when she was diagnosed with breast cancer but she was very worried.
Sheila never thought that she would die when she was diagnosed with breast cancer but she was very worried.
But I think that actually in the back of my mind though, I wasn’t that sure if I was going to be alright, but I did at that stage, I mean I was studying part time, I was only working part time, I had to be terribly careful about money, and I bought a present for a little girl, here who had hurt her finger, I mean, I seemed to spend quite a lot of money, and I think I must have thought, well you know, if I’m not going to be around what difference does it make sort of thing. You know what I mean. So on one level I was absolutely positive, but on another level I actually probably was, was, was quite, quite worried. But I never thought that, I don’t think I ever thought that, you know, I, I might not be here in six months or a year’s time.
Finding out she carried the BRCA gene enabled Karin to be proactive and she had a double mastectomy and her ovaries removed.
Finding out she carried the BRCA gene enabled Karin to be proactive and she had a double mastectomy and her ovaries removed.
Sylvia, who was diagnosed with Crohn’s disease over 30 years ago was given little information at the time so she said “she just got on with it” and treated it with a low fibre diet. Sometimes it can take a while for Crohn’s disease to be diagnosed and when this was the case, people felt relief to finally know what was causing their symptoms.
Hinda was relieved to finally find out that the stomach pains she had experienced for two years were caused by Crohn's disease.
Hinda was relieved to finally find out that the stomach pains she had experienced for two years were caused by Crohn's disease.
Well at least, I knew, well at least then there was something, I knew there was something wrong; that I wasn’t going mad. I mean I actually thought when the doctor said to me to see a psychiatrist, I thought, I knew I wasn’t mad, but I mean, I thought maybe, I knew there was something wrong. Yes, I was delighted, not delighted, but I mean I was happy that I knew there was something. That I wasn’t just imagining things because you do, I mean after two, over two years, of saying you’d got pains in your stomach and cramps in your stomach, and nobody believes you. I mean, my son at the time was only what 15? 14? 15, and he had just had his bar mitzvah and I thought, oh that’s what brought it on; the stress of that. Because I’m in the catering business I did the whole weekend. I mean I had hundreds of people for dinners and God knows what, a whole family thing, Friday night, Saturday night, Sunday night, Monday night. The whole weekend. I got this about a year, year and a half later, and I thought it was just the stress of all that. But I don’t know. Maybe it wasn’t, maybe it wasn’t. Who knows? I don’t know.
Miriam wasn't worried when she discovered she was a Tay Sachs carrier because she knew it wouldn't affect her ability to have children as long as her husband wasn't also a carrier.
Miriam wasn't worried when she discovered she was a Tay Sachs carrier because she knew it wouldn't affect her ability to have children as long as her husband wasn't also a carrier.
No, I didn’t really think about. Once I discovered I was a carrier, it was still very theoretical and I was just very... and in fact it’s never... as I say it didn’t turn out to be a problem, because within, the people I met in England, there wasn’t a problem with me saying you know, “I’d like you to be tested, because I’m a carrier.” And people, I suppose the people I was meeting, mostly people who are educated enough to know what it meant to be a carrier, that to marry a carrier if you weren’t a carrier was not something of great import... and therefore people didn’t say, “I don’t want to meet you again if you’re a carrier.” I didn’t find that at all. So I found people were willing to be tested.
Discovering that they were both carriers for the cystic fibrosis gene was very confusing and “pretty horrific” for Aaron and Rebecca. They were worried about what would happen after their child was born. However the professional help they received in the first few weeks after their daughter was born was “incredibly helpful”.
Last reviewed September 2015.
Last updated June 2013.
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