In the fall of 1996, Leslie Vogel had no known family history of breast or ovarian cancer.  When she felt a marble-sized lump on her right hip, she assumed it was a hernia from recent physical therapy.  Her gynecologist, however, ordered an ultrasound which revealed a mass.  But Leslie was too busy to get the final diagnosis right away.  She had Thanksgiving dinner to cook for 20 people the next week followed by her son's wedding in late December.  It was only after those festivities had ended that Leslie got the official word:  she had ovarian cancer.  You can talk to Leslie during our Facing Cancer Together Community Forum, Thursday night at 8 on witf TV.

Doctors removed her ovaries in January 1997 and then Leslie underwent a year of chemotherapy.  At that time, there was no genetic testing available that would detect whether Leslie carried the marker for breast cancer, as well.  Within four years, she had started working as a patient-support liaison in the medical practice that treated her cancer.  "So, I felt safe right away because I knew if anything came up, I was right there," Leslie recalls. 

In 2003, she was 57 and planning an American Cancer Society conference when she found some discharge from her left breast.  She scheduled a mammogram and an ultrasound.  Leslie says her doctor told her "it was a harmless papilloma that comes during middle age" and that the other breast had a small nodule that was "nothing." He recommended she wait a year and get another mammogram.  But, the doctor at the medical practice where she worked disagreed.  He arranged an appointment with a breast surgeon.  During the lumpectomy, the surgeon uncovered more nodules and determined that the whole breast had cancer.  Leslie recalls, "I said to her, 'I know you'd like to meet with me about options, but I'd like you to know I would like a bilateral mastectomy NOW.""

Once again, cancer had interrupted Leslie Vogel's busy life and once again, she had chosen aggressive treatment.  Today, women can undergo genetic testing and get the results within a few days.  Researchers have found that mutations to the genes BRCA1 and BRCA2 are linked to hereditary breast and ovarian cancer.  If doctors find harmful BRCA1 or BRCA2 mutations, there are several options to help patients manage their cancer risk.   

Leslie, who lives in Lower Paxton Township, is a patient advocate at PinnacleHealth's Women's Cancer Center .  She's also a member of the national BRAC Pack and counsels patients and support groups about the importance of identifying whether they have this genetic mutation.  "Only 10 to 12 percent of the breast-cancer patients out there will test positive for this," Leslie notes. "But, if they do test positive, their risk of being diagnosed with breast or ovarian cancer is 50-85%.  So, your risk is huge if you are identified as being a carrier of the mutation." 

Knowledge is power and Leslie feels stronger knowing that she has armed her family, and hundreds of other women, with the facts about their genetic risk for cancer and how to combat it.  "It's a gift," Leslie says.  Be sure to join the conversation with her Thursday night at 8.  You can send us an email at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it  or register a comment on facebook.