Breast Cancer Awareness Month Article
October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month and thus, Sarah and I wanted to share information about a very important test that works as an excellent diagnostic tool for a fight against Breast Cancer, as well as other prevalent cancers.
The Signatera test was developed and is produced by Natera. It is a personalized blood test that is created from your own tumor tissue. If someone is diagnosed with a Breast Cancer tumor and has that tumor removed, tissue from that tumor can be sent to Natera for DNA testing to identify the tumor’s unique DNA mutations in that patient. Thereafter, a Signatera blood test can be conducted upon a simple blood draw from the cancer patient. The Signatera test looks for microscopic fragments of the tumor’s DNA circulating in the patient’s blood.
The Signatera test can detect rising tumor DNA in the patient’s blood months before a recurrence might show up on imaging, giving the patient and their doctor more time to consider other forms of treatment, or different approaches in the medical attack against the cancer. It can also indicate whether the current course of care is working if the tumor DNA is found to be decreasing in the patient’s bloodstream.
As alluded to above, a sample of the cancerous tumor tissue is required for Natera to test for the unique DNA mutations of that particular cancer which is individual to each patient.
Additionally, the Signatera test must be ordered by the patient’s treating physician. So, the patient needs to make their doctor aware of their desire to have the test on their tumor tissue administered so that the doctor orders the test, as they do not always do so themselves.
Make sure you check with your health insurance to verify that they will cover the testing as they might not. If not, find out what the cash option would be, or contact Natera to see if they will offer any reduced priced testing.
The Signatera test is a great tool to be used in the evaluation of your cancerous condition and course of care, in addition to imaging and other methods of analysis.
Sarah and I firmly believe in this test and are aware of circumstances in which it truly made a significant, positive difference in people’s cancer treatment journey!
We are always here for YOU!
Chuck and Sarah