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SARA:
Welcome back to the Positive Gene podcast. This is your host, Sara Kavanaugh. I am so glad you're here with me today. Now, if you've ever wondered how to take control of your health in the face of genetic risks or what it means to be proactive about cancer prevention, this episode is for you. Today, we are sharing a story of resilience, empowerment, and action. Krista is a registered nurse, a coach, and an advocate who's turned her personal journey into a mission to help others live with purpose.
Let's get started. I am excited to introduce you to someone I've admired for a long time both now as a new friend and fellow advocate. Let me tell you a bit more about Krista Brown before we dive in. Krista, otherwise known as cancer.prevention.coach, and I first connected on Instagram probably over a year ago, I would say, and we bonded over our shared passion for proactive cancer prevention, awareness. Then we finally got to meet in person at the recent FORCE conference and I've been even more inspired by her journey and the meaningful work that she is doing to help others reduce their cancer risks. Here's Krista's background. Krista is a registered nurse, BSN and RN cancer prevention coach, and breast cancer survivor with an ATM genetic mutation, which puts her at higher risk for breast, ovarian, and pancreatic cancers. She blends her medical expertise with research into genetics, integrative oncology, and nutrition to develop practical personalized strategies for risk reduction. Whether she's educating, advocating, or coaching, Krista empowers individuals to become their own best health advocates, showing them that their genetics are just one part of the story. With the right tools, they can take action to live healthier, more purposeful lives. Welcome to the show, Krista. I'm so glad you're here.
KRISTA:
Hi, Sara. I'm so excited to be here today. Thank you so much for having me on this show. Your podcast has been one of my favorites for a long time. I think it brings such a great awareness to the hereditary cancer community and is much needed. I'm so excited to be here with you today.
SARA:
Yeah, me too. All right. Well, let's get into the questions here. You have shared and if people are following Krista, you may be familiar with her background. As I'd mentioned in the introduction, she has an ATM genetic mutation, and she has shared her journey about learning about her diagnosis. I would like to know if you could walk us through what it was like to discover your diagnosis, and then how they informed the decisions that you made for your health.
KRISTA:
Sure. I'll start with just a little bit of background, just for anyone who doesn't know me. My mom was the first person in my family to be diagnosed with breast cancer. She was tested for only the BRCA mutations at diagnosis, which is all we really knew about at that time, and she was negative. We all thought we were safe, but it wasn't until a few months before she passed away that someone offered her expanded genetic testing for other genes linked to breast cancer. That was the first time I really learned that there were any other genes besides BRCA linked to cancer. She did test positive for mutation in her ATM gene.
A few months after she passed away, I decided to do my own genetic testing. Looking back at that moment, I was so unprepared. I wasn't even sure where to start, to be honest. At that point, my grandma on my mom's side had also been diagnosed with breast cancer, and so I ended up just asking my OB-GYN at my well women's visit to order testing for me. She did. She ordered a full hereditary cancer panel for me, and then I waited. It was six weeks before I heard anything. They called me to tell me they wanted me to come back in for results and it was at that moment that I knew I was positive. I went back in to meet with them. I think when I received my results, the thing that shocked me the most was learning that I also had a risk of pancreatic and ovarian cancer. I had prepared myself for breast cancer or being at high risk of breast cancer. Having been through that with my mom in some weird way, I felt like I could manage that. Knowing that the earlier it was called the better, the outcome would be, I was ready for that if I needed to take that on. But knowing that I also had a risk now of pancreatic anovarian really hit me pretty hard.
My husband is at work, so I went straight to my sister's house and sat on the couch, and I cried, and she researched. The death of our mom was still very recent at that point, and feeling like I was going to put my family through everything that we just went through again, felt very heavy for me. I needed action steps. One of the first questions that I asked my doctor when I got my results was, what do I do to reduce my risk? What can I do? Looking forward, what do I do now? The answer was, eat a healthy diet, maintain a normal BMI, and no tobacco, no alcohol. Those actually were already things that I was doing. The recommendation was to start screenings. Every six months, I was alternating between mammograms and breast MRIs, and I felt like I was just sitting and waiting, and I am not a sit-and-wait kind of girl. I started my screenings. I met with doctors. I met with a genetic counselor, and I got my team in place for a preventative mastectomy with DIEP flap reconstruction. While I was waiting for that surgery, I had a breast MRI come back showing an abnormality. That led to further testing, and I ended up getting diagnosed with breast cancer two weeks before what was supposed to be my preventative surgery. It felt pretty crazy at the time. I wasn't expecting that, but looking back, I felt nothing but grateful because I had genetic testing and knew my risk, and my plan was already in place when I received my diagnosis.
My cancer was caught very early. It's now been stage 1A, invasive ductal carcinoma. So luckily, no chemo was recommended, and my risk of recurrence was very low, and so I have genetic testing to credit for that. I'm in an interesting spot now because I am so grateful for that, and I know what I avoided because of that genetic testing that I had and because my cancer was caught early and feel very lucky.
But I also know that I could have avoided cancer altogether had genetic testing been offered to me earlier. So now it's my mission to make sure that everyone is aware of genetic testing and can self-advocate and make informed decisions for their own health.
So I reported my family history at my doctor's appointments for almost 12 years, and it was never offered to me, which is crazy to me now. It's so important to me to make sure that everyone understands that that's an option for them.
SARA:
Yeah, absolutely. I feel like there's not enough awareness of genetic risk. I have a nurse practitioner that I went to for mine, and she had no idea about Lynch syndrome, much less check too, right? She had to ask for another week before we actually met to do the research. And she looked at me as like, I can't believe how much I'm learning just through this one experience with you.
Yeah, more needs to be done, and I think the access to genetic testing, I think, is a bit troublesome because in some states, it's maybe part of their program. If you have private insurance, it may or may not be covered. Sometimes it's only covered if you have already had cancer, right? So there's a lot more work, I think, that needs to be done in that space. So I really appreciate that this has become part of your mission to build that awareness.
So you mentioned that overwhelmed feeling of finding out that you had the ATM mutation. I imagine in some cases, it answered a few questions, obviously, for you, but that transition that you made clearly to empowerment, you are somebody who needed steps, you are somebody who wanted to take action, and you proactively talk to your physician. So I'm gonna ask throughout today, you're gonna be giving us advice, but I would start right out of the gates here in the first few minutes of this episode of really asking what advice do you have for listeners who are maybe navigating similar experiences for their risk? Maybe they have family history, or they have a family member that was diagnosed at a younger age. There's a lot of reasons why you should consider genetic testing. So you could maybe speak to that a little bit more than what I have, and then maybe what advice that you would give to listeners navigating that experience.
KRISTA:
Sure, yeah. So, I mean, even for me as a nurse, I remember feeling like I needed to do genetic testing, but also not really understanding why, right? Like what is this going to do other than causing anxiety for me and what is, you know, and having a high risk if I was positive. But there is so much we can do if we are positive, and we'll talk more about that later too, I think. But I think a lot about the day that I received my results and how much I didn't know, and from what I've learned now at this point, there are a few things that I really wish somebody would have told me in that moment. So I'll share a few of those if that's okay.
SARA:
Absolutely.
KRISTA:
So the first one would be, you can't control your genetics, right? Like you're born, you inherit those. You can't control those, but there is still a lot you can control. And that's kind of what my focus has been for myself and a lot of what I share on my page. And it has been really empowering to me to learn about those things.
But the second thing I would say would be knowing that you're at high risk gives you more time to process and make decisions at your own pace. And that's something that my mom and so many other people don't have the opportunity to do. Right? You are often, most people that are carriers of mutations find out after their cancer diagnosis and they're already in this rushed place where they're trying to hurry and make decisions about surgery. And they don't have that extra time to process and make decisions that they feel good about. And so that is one of the things that I really appreciated about having my risk. It's having that extra time to process.
The third thing I would say is finding out now could save your life. For me, I truly believe that it did save my life because according to my screening schedule that I normally would be following without that genetic risk, it would have been much later that I found out that I had cancer. So it could save your life.
And then the last thing I want to add is if you're somebody who has tested positive, just breathe. The goal at that point is to gather information, clarify your priorities and choose options that feel or help you feel the most at peace moving forward. There's no right answer. So take your time to process everything. You don't need to rush and make decisions that make you feel at peace moving forward.
SARA:I was thinking as you were saying those things, a lot of times we're giving these very tactical ways to cope which are great, but sometimes it's really just taking the step back and being at peace with things. I think that that is really good advice. So thank you for that.
I want to backup timeline wise. How long ago did you find out you had the ATM mutation?
KRISTA:
So I found out the beginning of last year. Yeah, so I started my screenings, had my surgery planned for January of this year, 2024. And then had my abnormality end of last year and started, did follow-up testing and then biopsy was beginning of January a few weeks before my surgery.
SARA:
Okay, yeah. So I asked that because we're gonna talk here about proactive cancer prevention and lifestyle choices which you had mentioned previously. You were already making healthy decisions. A lot of that was based on after your mom's diagnosis in what you could do now. How long ago was that?
KRISTA:
So I have always been very interested in how nutrition and lifestyle affects health and watching and taking care of patients for so many years. In an acute care setting, you start to recognize how much of a difference it makes for patients and the ones that were making healthier choices and how much better outcomes they had. And that's not just with cancer. That is like in every chronic health condition, right? So it was always something that I've been interested in. Learned a lot after my mom's diagnosis and just kind of dabbled and read a lot of books and a few things. Once I found out that I was a high risk mutation carrier, I started taking courses. So I took every course I could get into and nutrition was just something that I have become passionate about. And the more I've learned about it, the more I understand how much it does impact cancer and cancer development. And so I started a master's degree right before my diagnosis. So fall of 2023, and I'm actually graduating this December with a master's in medical nutrition. So something that I just, I don't know, I've come to love, just come to love it.
SARA:
So that's great. Well, and I ask that to time box all of this leading you up to this point, because I think as you'd mentioned, you'd work as a nurse and then you had this experience of really learning about the importance of nutrition and lifestyle. And then having gone through your own journey, you're not just talking about it as somebody who does this as a professional. I really wanted to emphasize this because it is somebody who lives it.
So let's dig a little bit deeper then into this proactive cancer prevention and lifestyle choices. So taking all of that background into consideration that has led us to really having a conversation around some of the lifestyle and cancer prevention advice and recommendations that you give on your page, which is great and very easy to understand, easy to follow. And one example that you have out there is emphasizing the importance of filling each plate with purpose. So let's talk about food. We'll start with nutrition as one, as you just said, is really something you had passionate about. You can get online every day, Instagram, TikTok, and find the latest and greatest recommendation for cancer prevention. And some of it is out there. Some of it is truly knowledgeable. So I'm sure you will say this, be mindful about who you follow and use credible sources. Maybe I'll put a little tool out there that FORCE has, that might be helpful. But let's talk about some examples of known functional foods that you can recommend for cancer prevention.
KRISTA:
Sure, yes. So I really believe that food can be such a powerful tool when we focus on what we should be adding to our plate. And in the cancer world, there is so much fear surrounding food.
And while yes, there are certain foods we know should be avoided, the most amazing mindset shift for me happened when I took my focus off all of the bad and started focusing on what I should be adding to my plate.
And believe it or not, when I started my Instagram account, the original name was actually plate with a purpose. And it was mainly nutrition focused at that time, but kind of has shifted and adjusted with my own journey kind of along the way. And there are so many foods that contain things like polyphenols and flavonoids with anti-cancer properties. And I think you talked a lot about that in one of your previous episodes and went into detail. So I won't get into the detail of all of that, but I will say that understanding this aspect of food and how it interacts with our genetics has been so empowering for me as a high risk mutation carrier, which can sometimes make everything feel so out of control, right? So I won't list all of them today. There are so many foods that are great, but I will share a few. And for anyone who doesn't know, functional foods are called that because they have benefits to eating them other than just providing the nutrients that we need. So they have an additional function to them. So I'm gonna share five functional foods that inhibit a process called angiogenesis, which is cancer's ability to grow its own blood supply. And that's how tumors receive nutrients and grow and the spread, right? So we want to add things that block that ability. So, okay, so...
...those five foods include walnuts, mangoes, cauliflower, almonds, and broccoli, which are not really hard to eat in my opinion, right? They're easy to add to your diet.
So I love that. And if anyone who's followed me on Instagram for a while has heard me talk about broccoli sprouts in particular, because they are amazing and broccoli contains sulforaphane, which I think you touched on before too. But has so many anti-cancer properties and broccoli sprouts are, they contain up to a hundred times more sulforaphane than even eating just full grown broccoli. So it's amazing. And if you have a genetic mutation like mine, your repair proteins aren't functioning properly. So adding all these foods that kind of help fill the gaps and what our genes can't do, it's just, I don't know, it's just so empowering to me. So I try to add as many foods to my plate like that, that I can.
SARA:
Yeah, I agree. Those are not difficult things to add. They're easy to get to for the most part. You could find them at your general grocery store. I mean, even my kids would eat those things, which is good, you know, really, really starting them out with these well-researched and accessible functional foods now while they're still young. And before I even know if they have any, you know, a higher risk or not, you know, obviously they're younger. They haven't been tested yet.
KRISTA:
Yeah. My kids are even, one of the things we try to do, something like cauliflower that they won't typically eat. Like if I just put it on their plate, even buying them frozen, I found that we can put them in smoothies and they love it. So little tricks.
SARA:
That's great. Okay. So you also, and you'd mentioned this previously, but you advocate for lifestyle changes like reducing alcohol, getting more sleep. Let's just touch on the reducing alcohol just for a moment. Alison Tierney and I did talk about this also on the past podcast. And I'm continuing to see more and more people who work in the cancer prevention space or people that are diagnosed and going through treatment about the importance of reducing your eliminating alcohol. And primarily because it has been identified as the class one carcinogen, tell me more about what are we comparing a class one carcinogen to? Give us other examples of things that are class one carcinogens.
KRISTA:Yeah. Some of the big ones that, it's basically a direct link to cancer that they're finding things like smoking, right? Is a direct link to, that's another class one carcinogen and well, tobacco. And processed meats are in that category. So, I mean, it's right up there with things that we've known for years, right? Like smoking is the one, the first thing that comes to my mind because that's one that most people know about, right? Like, you know, you can get lung cancer. So yeah, same category. So definitely something that I choose to avoid.
SARA:
Yeah. And that makes sense. It's really difficult because we spent so many years hearing things like in moderation, only so many classes per week for men and women or the benefits of resveratrol and red wine. And now they're rolling back some of this. And I feel like this is a ship that will never change course, to be honest, which is really hard, you know, maybe on an individual personal level, but I think this is another example of major cultural lifestyle. You know, I think this is gonna be a big shift. I think, you know, in our culture, in the Western culture, because alcohol is often associated with good times.
KRISTA:
Yeah, it's a social, right? Like, yeah, it's very ingrained in our like culture and social interactions with others. And so I think there's that psychological and emotional component involved and that makes it tricky for people.
SARA:
Yeah, it truly does. So the research is there, but I think it's really a very conscious decision. Okay, let's talk about getting more sleep, then. This is another element of lifestyle changes that you advocate, you know, your followers to get more sleep to lower your cancer risks. So we can either step into a little bit more specificity around that. I know I do have here, like, you know, what do you say to those struggling to implement these changes? Just speaking to the sleep, we both have young children… And getting kids to bed is a challenge, keeping them, you know, from coming into our rooms at night and disrupting our sleep. I mean, my oldest is 11. I have not had a decent night's sleep since, well, since I was pregnant with him. So 12 years it's been, since I've actually had a decent night's rest, unless I am like literally out of town. So I guess speaking to that as another example of, you know, impact to lifestyle and health overall, what is the importance of sleep in lowering our cancer risk?
KRISTA:
Yeah, so sleep, the big thing with that is going to be that at nighttime in the dark is when our body's producing melatonin. And there's a huge link between melatonin and cancer, specifically breast cancer. That's a big one, but other cancers as well.
And so sleep is important because if you're not getting sleep during those dark hours, then your body's not able to produce the melatonin that it needs. And that's when your risk is going up, which is why you'll see things like night shift workers having a higher risk of cancer.
And so, I mean, we can't control everything, right? Like we can't control our kids coming in in the middle of the night, but we can control some things and some of those would include things like making sure that your sleep environment is dark. Screen time usage is a big one. You hear about that a lot. So putting those screens away a couple hours before bed and making sure that you have a cool temperature. I don't think there's like a specific one that is best for everyone, but just kind of adjusting. I know we just kind of had to play with our thermostat and find a good temperature so that you're sleeping well. I know some people really benefit from like white noise. My kids all have box fans in their room and that seems to help with sleep. So just making those little adjustments to just kind of help provide you with, you know, doing as much as we can to make our sleep environment more conducive to a good night's rest.
SARA:
Absolutely. I try to do all those things, but you're right. It is difficult when you have kids disrupting you. And it, you know, I think about that too. Like my, I want my kids to have good sleep habits as well, but there are things like, yeah, limited screen time, you know, several hours or a few hours, at least before bed for all of us, not just for the kids.
KRISTA:
Yeah, it's hard even as adults.
SARA:
It is. Okay, so we talked through a couple of reducing alcohol and getting more sleep to lower your risk. So what do you say to those that are struggling to implement these changes?
KRISTA:So like any change, you just want to start small. I think, especially when you are somebody in a position where you know you're at high risk and or have been diagnosed with cancer, you feel this overwhelming need to change and fix everything. And no one expects you to change everything in a single day. Like, right, that's impossible. Like no one can change everything in a day. So just pick one thing that feels manageable to you. One thing and start there. And whether it's improving your sleep or decreasing your alcohol intake or drinking more water or getting movement in every day. So pick one thing and do that until it starts to feel easy and then add something else. I use a bucket analogy a lot to kind of explain to people about cancer risk. So I think of a bucket, like filling up with water. And so those of us with high risk gene mutations, start with a little bit of water in our bucket, right? But the goal is to keep your bucket from overflowing. So when we're doing things to reduce our risk, like not smoking, decreasing alcohol, getting enough sleep, every one of those things is poking a hole in your bucket. Right? And we're trying to keep it from overflowing. So the more holes we're poking in our bucket, the better obviously, it's gonna keep it from overflowing. But, you know, every single one matters. And even if you're just doing one at a time, eventually over time, you're making a big difference. And the more holes you poke, you know, the less likely your bucket is to overflow. So does that make sense?
SARA:Yeah, absolutely. Totally makes sense. That's a great analogy. In fact, that's probably could be a good segue into the next question, which is related to the importance of exercise. So you have mentioned even just a 30 minute brisk walk, you know, each day. I guess that would be another hole in that bucket, right? And depending on how the frequency and the intensity of that, maybe you could be making that hole larger or smaller. Maybe you could add to that. So if there is somebody that is starting from scratch, I mean, we've already given some examples of, you know, from a nutrition and sleep standpoint, and now from an exercise, what are some ways that people, whether they're starting from scratch or need to improve in that area, what are some simple ways that they can build those healthy routines?
KRISTA:
Yeah, so I mean, again, you always are going to start small, right? Don't expect to like start running or walking and then run a marathon the next day, right? We're gonna start small. So even if you just have small, short achievable goals, whether it's just getting in 10 to 15 minutes of walking every day, or whatever your choice of movement is, it's all going to be benefiting you. So some other things that have helped me and people that I've worked with are to have a set schedule time. That doesn't work for everybody, especially if you have a schedule that is different every day, but scheduling helps a lot of people. If you have a certain time, like I try to wake up and do my exercise first thing in the morning if I can. Doesn't always happen, but that's the goal. Incorporating movement, you know, finding ways to add movement throughout your day, whether it's like when I take my kids to practice, my daughter played basketball and I would go to practice and just walk around the park while she was practicing, right? Like instead of sitting there and watching practice the whole time, I just did laps around the park or going to the grocery store and parking in the back of the parking lot instead of the front of the parking lot. So finding ways to add things in when you have a few minutes is helpful. And finding something that you enjoy, right? Pickleball, people love pickleball, whatever it is, like whether it's strength training or running's my favorite, but just finding something that you love and then doing it every day. And then finding a friend, sometimes doing it with a friend and having like that person to report to, sometimes that helps.
SARA:
Okay, well, let's go back to the role of genetics and we're gonna touch on some advocacy side of things here. We're talking about self-advocacy. So when we talk about genetics, a lot of people I'm more familiar with, BRCA or BRCA, but let's talk about why it's important to know about other genetic mutations like ATM, which is what you have. I have Lynch syndrome and I also have CHEK2, which is for primarily associated with breast cancer as well. So let's talk about the importance of knowing your genetic mutations if you have them and then how listeners can explore genetic testing.
KRISTA:
Sure. So some of the most important reasons to know if you are a carrier of inherited mutation that has been passed down through your family, whether it's ATM or CHEK2 or, I mean, there's, I think close to 79 now that are linked to different types of cancer. Don't quote me on that, but so some of the types of cancers that are linked to these genes are breast, colon, pancreatic, stomach cancer, ovarian, skin cancer even, melanoma, prostate, bladder. There's so many now that are linked to cancer. So, and the reason that it matters is, there are several reasons that it matters.
So the first reason that it's important to know your genetic risk is because it allows you to have more thorough and frequent screenings. And those screenings often lead to earlier diagnosis and treatment. And we know that the earlier cancer is detected and treated, the better the person has of beating it, right? So that's the first reason.
The second reason is because some genetic mutations respond better to certain types of cancer treatment and medications. So this means you can have a more targeted and personalized treatment if you do get or even have been diagnosed with one of these mutations and associated cancer. So that's a big one. And the third one is if you are at risk for certain types of cancer, like I was at risk for breast cancer, there are some preventative surgeries. And I know Sara, you have experience with this too. So you can have a preventative surgery that might be an option for you to prevent and reduce your risk significantly. I think mine dropped from 69% risk of breast cancer to less than five. And my oncologist said, that's only because we can't guarantee 100%, right? Every time. But I mean, it's a drastic reduction in risk with those preventative surgeries. Yeah, so those are some of the big reasons.
I think a lot of people really worry about the cost. And what I've learned is that a lot of times if you fall under certain guidelines, it can be covered by insurance for me personally. I mean, it will be different for everyone, but mine was covered at 100% with two generations of breast cancer in my family. But even if it's not covered, a full hereditary cancer panel is only around $250, which to me is totally worth it, right? Like totally worth it. So, and so even though we know not all cancers are caused by inherited mutations, if it has the potential of saving one person's life, I think it should be an option that everyone has offered in my opinion.
SARA:
100%, I think about the lives that could be saved just by merely increasing people's screening, right? And when you know that you have this, you have an increased risk, whether it be family history, like I mentioned before, or you have known test results from your genetic testing, just building that awareness and maybe potentially having to increase your screening more often, it has the potential to save so many lives.
KRISTA:
There are also organizations like MyFaultyGene, who are trying to provide access to genetic testing. And so they will cover genetic testing or help pay for testing for people who can't afford to pay for it out of pocket. So, I mean, there are lots of amazing organizations, but that's just one that I know for sure works really hard to help people get access to testing, especially when there's a family history.
SARA:
That's great. And I'm so glad that you mentioned MyFaultyGene. They are a great organization. They do great advocacy work. And I hope to have Kathy Baker on the show pretty soon. So thanks for sharing that.
Okay, so let's talk about self-advocacy. So you've said that even specialists don't know everything and that self-advocacy is crucial. So what steps, what practical steps can listeners take to advocate for their own health, especially with genetic testing?
KRISTA:
Sure, so, and I do, I just wanna clarify that. I never mean, when I say those kinds of things, I never mean it in a negative or demeaning way. As a nurse, I work with so many amazing healthcare providers that bend over backwards for their patients and truly put their heart and soul into their jobs. But I also think that being in the healthcare field gives me a unique perspective in which I can see that side of healthcare, but also realize that we're all human, right? Your doctors are human. No one's perfect. No one knows everything. And we sometimes have unrealistic expectations of them and assume they know the answer to every single question that we have. But none of us are that superhuman, right?
And especially when it comes to genetics, which is such a quickly growing field, there is a huge knowledge gap in that area, especially right now as we're learning new things every day, especially if you're not working specifically with oncology patients, you're not necessarily getting all of that information as everything's changing. So it's important to speak up when you have concerns.
So just back to my story a little bit. When my first MRI showed an abnormality, follow-up testing was done. The first person that read my imaging said it was the lymph node. To follow up in six months, the radiologist that read the report that day didn't know what ATM mutation was. So I had to explain that to him, which made me pretty nervous, right? And like I said, it's a growing field. Not everyone knows all about all these new genes that are being linked to cancer. So because I was nervous about that with my risk, I decided to follow up and had two other specialists say, no, this isn't cancer. 99% sure this is a lymph node. We'll just follow up. I still felt really uneasy about that. So I requested a biopsy and sure enough, it was cancer. So in my own experience and even my experience as a nurse working with patients through different situations, I've come to realize that those gut feelings that we have are sometimes the best diagnostic tools. And if there's a valid reason for concern, like a breast lump or some kind of screening abnormality, especially when it comes to a high risk population like genetic mutation carriers, it's okay to ask for additional testing, even if it wasn't recommended, right? So don't be afraid to ask for it. Most doctors are willing to listen if you are, you know, have a valid concern. Most doctors are willing to work with you in order testing, even if it's just for your peace of mind. So what I think we can all do better with as patients is understanding that healthcare is a team effort and that we as patients are part of that team. And it's so important to do your own research, share your concerns and speak up when something doesn't feel right.
SARA:Okay, you have developed a wealth of knowledge throughout your own personal journey, and then, you know, really as your role as a coach and an educator. So how do you see these roles helping others, you know, really empowering them, you know, whether they have a high cancer risk or maybe folks that are curious about their cancer risk, you know, how do you see your role as a coach and educator in this process?
KRISTA:
To be honest, I don't, this was never something that I would have seen myself do. I never saw myself doing something like this in a million years. I'm typically a pretty private person and not necessarily one who would share my story in a public space. My personal Instagram is very small. I'm also somebody who wants all of the information about everything that I go through. So when I started out, like we kind of talked about this a little bit, but when I started out, no one could answer the questions that I had. And so I started reading and taking the courses and most of the courses that I took required some sort of medical degree. And every time I would learn something that felt empowering to me or made me think, why didn't anyone tell me this? Why hasn't anyone said this to me? I knew I needed to share with others. And suddenly I felt this huge responsibility to help fill some of these gaps that I was recognizing as I stepped out of the healthcare professional role and into the shoes of the patient. And so as uncomfortable as it has been for me at some points to share all of my personal information online, there was a point in time where I remember feeling like the purpose behind what I was doing and sharing was greater than my fear. And so being able to help eliminate some of the stress and frustration and help advocate for others so they can avoid some of this hard that I had to go through has been some of the most fulfilling work that I've ever done. Every time I get a message or a comment from someone that says, thank you so much, I had no idea, especially when it comes to like family history of prostate cancer and people don't realize that there are different predominantly male cancers can be passed on through families and you can be a carrier of a breast cancer gene, even if you only have a family history of prostate cancer. Just as one example. So when I get those messages from people and they tell me I'm gonna go get genetic testing and I'm gonna go do this or I'm changing my nutrition and lifestyle, thank you so much for what you share. It makes it all worth it. And so the hope is to help somebody avoid an unnecessary diagnosis. And even if that doesn't happen or maybe I'll have one one day, but I think that's what makes it all worth it to me.
SARA:
Yeah. Well, I know as one of your followers, I certainly appreciate it. I've learned a lot from you.
KRISTA:
Thanks Sarah.
SARA:
So in your opinion, then, it's closing out some of these tactical takeaways. What do you think is the most underutilized resource when it comes to cancer prevention and care?
KRISTA:
100% genetic testing and genetic counseling, for sure. In my experience, we kind of talked about this too, but in my experience, most aren't offered genetic testing until they receive a diagnosis. And although it does seem to be changing, I've had even nurses that I work with say, "You're gonna be so excited." My doctor just told me I should get genetic testing because I have a family history of cancer and I'm always excited when that happens. Cascade testing, where testing is being offered to family members of those people with mutations, is going to be where we're gonna make the biggest difference when it comes to hereditary cancers. Genetic counselors are an amazing resource and always have the most up-to-date information on genes and everything, which cancers they're linked to and all of the changes that are happening every day in that field. So ask for a referral. Maybe your primary care doesn't have a lot of knowledge about it or isn't quite sure what to order. So ask for a referral to a genetic counselor because I wish I would have done that before I got my results.
SARA:
Yeah, I think we've provided in the past, I've talked about the decision-making process around genetic testing. We'll put some resources in the transcript and the podcast notes if you wanna find more information, if you are not able to get a referral or you wanna research it a little bit more. Okay, so what's the one thing you wish more people understood about genetic mutations and cancer prevention?
KRISTA:
Just remember, when you do genetic testing, your results, it's information, right? It's not a death sentence, even if you have a positive result, even though it might feel that way when you get a positive result. So just like your doctor orders vitamin D levels that you can make adjustments as needed to balance things out, genetic testing is data that we use to help you make better informed decisions about your health and it allows for more individualized care. So knowledge is power.
SARA:
That is a great approach, right, to this whole journey - it is not a death sentence. I think a lot of people think that immediately they have this mutation that they freak out, they get scared, they don't know where to go and we've been there. We have been through this process and as I've talked to in the past, oftentimes that experience in terms of how you react comes from your past experiences or that narrative that you have, your cancer story of your family. And so I think getting this information, having your genetic awareness and being proactive through some of the tips that you've shared with us today is a great way to get started.
Okay, so how can listeners connect with you and learn more about the work that you're doing?
KRISTA:
So I am mainly on Instagram, the handle @cancer.prevention.coach and you can also email me if you ever have any questions at krista@cancerpreventioncoach.com.
SARA:
So as someone who balances personal experience, research and advocacy, you are very busy. What's next for you in your mission to prevent cancer and support others?
KRISTA:
So I am finishing up my master's degree right now, graduating in December and working on a functional nutrition board certification. And I love learning and I love teaching and the more I learn, the more I wanna share. And sometimes with one-on-one coaching, like I've done in the past, it can be very limiting because there's only so much I can do in one day. So in order to teach more people, I've actually been working on some online courses that I plan on offering about different topics related to nutrition and lifestyle and cancer prevention and offering this hopefully in the coming year, if not sooner. So I'm really excited about that.
SARA:
That’s awesome. Okay, Krista, thank you so much for joining me today, sharing your incredible story and insights. It's really been a meaningful conversation. I know our listeners are gonna take a lot away from this experience and valuable lessons from your journey. So before we close, is there anything else you'd like to add, any final thoughts you'd like to leave with the audience?
KRISTA:
Yeah, so I would say to anyone who maybe has not been tested for inherited mutations but has a history of cancer, I would just say do it, check your genes. It could save your life.
SARA:
All right, that's great advice. I would support that 100%, so thank you. All right, well, thanks again, Krista. I am so grateful for the work that you're doing. I really appreciate your time today.
KRISTA:
Yes, thank you, Sara. Thank you so much for having me. It's been a pleasure.
SARA:
All right, for our listeners, thank you for tuning in. Be sure to check out the show notes for ways to connect to Krista and explore the resources that we discussed. Please stay connected with us on Instagram at Positive Gene Podcast. You can also visit the website at positivegenepodcast.com or sarakavanagh.com. I am available for speaking opportunities and adding show sponsors, so please reach out if you'd like to learn more.
So friends, thank you for being here today. Keep embracing life and positivity and strength. Don't forget to subscribe for more empowering stories like Krista's right here on the Positive Gene Podcast. We'll see you next time.
LINKS TO CONNECT WITH KRISTA:
Instagram: @cancer.prevention.coach
LINKS TO CONNECT TO SARA & PODCAST
Podcast website: www.positivegenepodcast.com
Sara’s website/blog: www.sarakavanaugh.com
RESEARCH AND RESOURCES MENTIONED IN PODCAST:
MY FAULTY GENE: www.myfaultygene.org
FORCE: www.facingourrisk.org
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