As a child, I knew that my paternal grandmother had died of cancer at quite a young age and then as I was growing up we devastatingly lost two of my Dad’s sisters to breast and ovarian cancer. At the time and for many years I just considered it a tragedy, a sad and cruel fate. However, as time elapsed the question of the BRCA1 defective cancer gene rose to the surface - to have lost all these beautiful people to particular cancer at such a young age began to ring alarm bells.
As a wider family, we were referred to the family history unit at the Nightingale Centre. After several conversations took place it was decided that Dad (mine and Laura’s) would go for the gene test to see if was carrying the BRCA1 gene, this was in May 2015, Dad’s result was positive.This propelled me and Laura from a 1 in 4 chance of carrying the gene to a 1 in 2 chance- our screening was increased to reflect this.
For me, I had my family, three beautiful girls, so in the December of 2015 I decided to go for my BRACA1 gene test, fast forward to the 12th January 2016 and my result was positive!!
I cried and cried some more then decided to pull myself together, take action and make knowledge power. My healthy ovaries were removed in March 2016, through keyhole surgery and a success, there was early menopause to contend with but a small price to pay. This was the first stage of the preventative surgery, stage two the preventive double mastectomy was always looming but I was in the 2nd year of my primary teaching degree (a very mature student!!) so I kept up the regular screening and checked any changes in my body, leaving this major surgery on the back burner for the time being.
My amazing little sister Laura had her second gorgeous little girl in August 2016 and decided she too would now have the gene test this was now the December of 2016 unfortunately whilst awaiting her gene test results, Laura found a lump. It was heartbreakingly triple-negative breast cancer at age 36!!
We knew we had a fight on our hands, Laura needed intensive chemo and with a 2-year-old and a 6-month-old baby this was going to be tough. Made tougher by the fact my chances based upon Laura’s diagnosis (age 36) had now rocketed to +95%, the preventive mastectomy was now a no-brainer.
So, on 13th March 2017 8.36am, I’m being wheeled down to the theatre for my double mastectomy, my chance to stop this cruel disease before it got to me - fortunately for me, the power was in my hands. My operation was a success, with immediate reconstruction, implants in place. The chest drains weren’t great but after two weeks I was so grateful they were removed, I did recover remarkably well but at the time, I felt it was a slow and frustrating recovery, mainly due to the fact I was unable to support Laura as I would have wanted to (thank God for our unbelievable parents) but I got through it, my family was fantastic and my girls were shielded from any pain or the extent of my operation by a good wallop of blusher and a super smile.
However, I still had the small matter of being in the final few months of my degree - I’d worked my socks off to become a teacher and wasn’t going to let the small matter of a double mastectomy stop me! I completed my dissertation, ticked all the boxes, and graduated with a 2:1 in primary education, the crowning glory being the recipient of the outstanding achievement award at graduation.
Laura bravely fought and won, she is now recovering marvelously and getting stronger every day, we are both ambassadors for the Prevent charity working closely with the charity.
We have 5 beautiful daughters between us, so future research around the BRCA1 defective gene and the charity Prevent is so, so important to our family. So that is me, my story -
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