In the picture above they are cute and silly. But don't let them fool you, they are now (basically, kind of) adults and no longer resemble the two lil' nuggets in the picture you see here. Rather, one is a freshman in college and the other is a senior in high school. Their main interests are listening to music with "mad bass" and spending their time watching Will Farrell movies or hockey games. They speak in tongues or what my dad likes to refer to as "cave man talk." For example I might say, "Andrew, how was your day?" and his response will be, "mm k" (which apparently means OK). Zach, on the other hand, has recently grown past his cave man speaking days and not only speaks in full out sentences but almost enjoys conversing!
Growing up I have always adored having two lil' schmucks around. They are good company and prior (and post) to their cave man talking phases, they are rather funny. I have always taken great pride in telling everyone how talented they are at hockey, how smart they can be at school and how they can be such good people. On top of all of that, I love them to pieces.
What is some what ironic is how the three of us have so much in common but we are still very different. While we are all hard workers and love sports, I am the most outgoing. Zach and Andrew are both really funny, but Andrew is much more outspoken and Zach is very shy at first. Andrew is so easy going, we have to check him for a pulse from time to time, where as Zach and I are much less easy going. I am some what of a neat freak but neither of the boys could care less about being neat. So it makes perfect sense that when mom and dad sat us down to tell the three of us that mom had cancer, we all reacted in different ways.
I immediately got emotional and didn't take the time to absorb anything they said other than 'mom has cancer.' Zach was inquisitive, asking questions that would help him put the pieces together more clearly. In fact, Zach was all bent out of shape that his ovaries had cancer too... until he realized what he said and then laughed hysterically. Nothing like lightening the mood. Ha ha! And Andrew was silent- completely silent.
As time went on and we all had our time to digest what had happened, we came to terms with it and we were all there to support mom. I'd venture to say that whole ordeal has made the three of us much more close, and I have to admit that I love that.
Eventually, we found out that mom's cancer was caused due to the BRCA gene that can be passed from generation to generation in families. As I detailed in my last post, I had to go for a handful of tests because I am considered high risk. What I failed to mention is that Zach and Andrew are both high risk for having the BRCA gene as well, even though they are boys. That being said, they too will have to be tested for the gene mutation but are not required to do so until they are 40 years old. Apparently, in men it is far less likely that they will have the particular gene mutation that runs in my family and even if they do, it won't be until they are middle-aged that this gene will (most likely) make a difference! Zach and Andrew would be high risk for things such as prostate, pancreatic or breast cancer.
So, lucky for them, when I came
home from Pittsburgh after having passed out and lost sleep over potential prodding, I inform my brothers that they have to get their blood work done too but not until they are 40. They both roll their eyes and laugh when they hear how I passed out when they were taking my blood. For good measure I threw in the details about their having to have a prostate exam when they do reach the big 4-0. Neither of them reacted. So I ask them, "are you aware of how a prostate exam is conducted?" Both look at me with blank stares, which most likely indicated that they were not even listening. I give them a detailed explanation to which their response was turning up the TV louder. Regardless though, TV at decibel 100 or not, it is a relief to know that both Zach and Andrew will also be monitored for the BRCA gene.
