Since I can remember, I spent a good majority of my time in
hospital waiting rooms and cafeterias. My Grandmother (Mami) was diagnosed with
ovarian cancer for the first time in 1996, at the age of 59. When she was first
diagnosed, testing for hereditary cancer was discussed but the doctors urged
against it, asking my family what they would do differently had they found
there were positive for this gene. Deciding against it my 4 aunts would go to
the doctor every year for routine check-ups, keeping in mind their extensive
family history.
For the following 15 years we spent countless days in
hospitals, practically a second home. Unfortunately in the spring of 2011, 15
years of fighting and two reoccurrences later, my grandmother passed away in
her sleep.
On April 29th, 2014 lying in bed after a long day
of class, my mom walked into the house, much earlier than usual. It caught me
off guard, but I didn’t think much of it. Until she walked up to my door and
said, “instead of getting a tattoo with teal (ovarian cancer) and gray (brain
cancer), we’ll get a teal, gray, and pink (breast cancer) tattoo!” She later
said, she didn’t know how to tell her only daughter that she had cancer.
Upon multiple doctor visits, the oncologist told her she
most likely was BRCA+ and tested her on the spot. At 42 she was diagnosed with
breast cancer, found out she was BRCA1+, underwent multiple surgeries, went
through chemo therapy, and radiation. With the love and support of her entire
family she received her clean bill of health.
Following her completion of chemo therapy, I decided to get
tested. Many of her doctors urged me to wait because I am so young. Finally a
doctor agreed, and told me that making the decision to get tested and fight
back against this gene was very responsible and mature of me. I got tested
following my 20th birthday, and found out I was BRCA1+ in November
of 2014.
At this age, it is difficult to know where to start simply
because doctors say we’re too young for MRI’s or mammograms. But making the
first step to go into a gynecologist or breast surgeon’s office, gives you a
great baseline and will ultimately open your eyes to all of your options.
People may tell you “no!” because of your age, but push back and make sure that
you feel comfortable with your decisions and options, because KNOWLEDGE IS
POWER.
In late June my mother and I attended the FORCE conference
in Philadelphia, PA. A group for people who are dealing with or are at high
risk for hereditary cancers. It included a great deal of important information,
and introduced us to an entire community of support and people dealing with the
exact same thing as ourselves. I encourage anyone dealing with hereditary
cancers to look for them online or to find support groups nearby.
I am also working with Mollie Smith, who started BRCAn’t
Stop Me at Grand Valley State University, to create a branch at my school,
Arizona State University. We hope to “raise awareness of the BRCA mutation
among young adults and to provide support for young adults who have or are
affected by the BRCA mutation.” We hope to see the club in full swing at
Arizona State by this fall or spring 2016.
Feel free to follow me on tumblr where I keep track of all
my doctor appointments, group involvement, and other BRCA related
information. http://lorenaslyfe.tumblr.com/
