Some friends arranged for a Mass to be said for Noel (Annie) this morning at a nearby parish. John is still home so he went with me. As of course is customary, the priest mentioned Noel by name during the service. In a way it was strange hearing her name mentioned aloud. And then it made me think of the Corita card with the Peter Beagle quote – “Your name is a golden bell hung in my heart. I would break my body to pieces to call you once by your name.” And so I would.  (I gave the card to Annie before we were married – and am looking at it now.  You can see it at https://aswiftcurrent.wordpress.com/tag/damn-everything-but-the-circus/.)

Shortly before she died, when things were still somewhat “normal,” Noel had some genetic testing done. The results did not come back until after her death and I only met with the genetic counselor to get the results on Thursday. As it turns out, she had two pathogenic mutations associated with hereditary ovarian cancer, one of which (PMS2) increases lifetime risk for colorectal and uterine/endometrial cancer by about 15%. Whether the mutations also made the cancer more resistant to treatment isn’t completely clear but was intimated. There apparently is a 50-50 chance that one or both mutations were passed on to the boys, and that her sisters may have them as well, so all will be tested. How much nicer though it would have been to have had the information before the very subtle cancer symptoms first manifested themselves.

Peace,
Clark