I came, I saw, I WILL conquer!
I have been considering doing a blog for a while. While doing online research to see what others have gone through, I found it to be helpful, and strangely comforting, so I thought that maybe my story can help someone else as well. So, if you are reading this, welcome! I am just a normal momma of one, who works hard, loves hard, and is determined to live as long as I can.
My story actually begins with my mom. She was adopted at birth and never had an interest to learn about her biological family; "The mom I know is the only one I need" she would say. She was right, her mom, Jane, the grandma I knew, was pretty amazing. The one problem with not knowing her biological family was that we also didn't know any medical history. If we did, it MIGHT have saved her life. When I was young, my mom was diagnosed with breast cancer. From what I remember, it was found at an early stage, thankfully. My mom still decided to have a bilateral mastectomy (removal of both breasts), and after she was healed, she wore a special bra that held implant-type molds to make it look like she still had breasts. I honestly don't remember much about when she had the surgery or how she dealt with it, although I really wish I did. Years later, when both my brother and I were visiting her one weekend, we were getting ready to go out with some friends and my mom said she needed to talk to us first. She sat us down and showed us a very official looking piece of paper. I remember after looking over it, I asked my mom what it meant. She was shaking by then and trying not to cry. She said that the cancer came back. At first, I shrugged it off and confidently said "It's ok, Momma. You will beat it again, just like you did the last time!" She shook her head and said "No, not this time." This time, it was pancreatic cancer. If you aren't very familiar with Pancreatic cancer, it is one that when it is found, it is usually too late. It was stage 4 and had metastasized to other parts of her body. She was given only a few months to live, but God gave her a little less than a year. During that time, I struggled with my new-found faith in Christ and almost hated going to see my mom (I was at college about an hour away) because I hated seeing her in so much pain and so depressed. I remembered the times when she was healthy and doing well and we would go shopping and we would have great talks and I just didn't want to lose that. During this year, my grandma Jane's health slowly began to decline as well. My mom always took care of her and now she wasn't able. Something that is still baffles me, although I am eternally grateful for, is that my step-mom, Ramona, stepped up and took care of both my mom AND my grandmother. It was a huge blessing! My mom refused to let me drop out of school to help her, saying it was too important, and honestly, I was scared to death to stay with her anyway. I will forever have it engraved in my mind what she looked like every time I went to visit, especially the very last time I saw her. Glory be to God though, my mom accepted Christ into her heart a month before she passed away. Because of this, I know, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that I'll see my mom again in Heaven. Let me tell you, if you do not have a personal relationship with Jesus, you are missing out. My mom died in December of 2006 and went to be with the Lord.
Fast foward 12 1/2 years...
I started working on genealogy about a year ago, trying to find my mom's biological family. I sent in a DNA test through Ancestry and from that, discovered many many cousins on my mom's side. None of them were able to fill in the blanks for me, but I did have a cousin, Thena, who helped me TREMENDOUSLY with my search. She helped fill in a lot of my mom's tree, although it still today remains a mystery as to who my mom's parents are.
Throughout the years, I've done a little research here and there about hereditary breast cancer. Within the past year or so, after talking with my father in law, who is a radiation oncologist, I discovered that there is another DNA test that can tell me if I had a gene mutation that was commonly found in breast cancer and pancreatic cancer (along with a few others). After what my mom went through, I felt in my gut that I would eventually get cancer, like her. BUT, I found out that by finding out my actual chances, I could possibly prevent it. After a lot of thought and prayer and talking to my husband, Ben, I decided to take the test. A few months ago (June 2019), I found out that I have a BRCA2 mutation. My chances of getting either breast cancer or ovarian cancer are up to 80%.
Since June, a plan has been formulated. If all goes well and I don't get diagnosed with cancer, the timeline is as follows: have another baby, 2 years or so later, have a prophylactic bilateral mastectomy (preventative surgery to remove both breasts) and immediate reconstruction, heal for another few years, and around age 40, have an salpingo-oophorectomy (removal of ovaries and fallopian tubes). The whole point of this blog is to share my journey with others to help build awareness and to hopefully help someone else who is or will be going through the same thing (you are not alone!!).
Why bright pink? Well, another thing I found out while doing research is that while the color pink is known for breast cancer awareness, bright pink is for prevention and awareness of breast and ovarian cancer in young adults (under the age of 40). Check out youngsurvival.org There is also a non-profit dedicated to this (brightpink.org). It is an absolute inspiration!
Many people have asked me...Why in the world would you want to have surgery for this if you don't even have cancer? My answer: my daughter. I REFUSE to leave my daughter before it is my time because of something I could have prevented and decided not to. Is surgery risky? Yes. I will take that risk to lower my chance of getting cancer and going through chemo and/or radiation by 90%.
So, if you have read this far, I applaud you. I thank you for joining me on this journey.
My story actually begins with my mom. She was adopted at birth and never had an interest to learn about her biological family; "The mom I know is the only one I need" she would say. She was right, her mom, Jane, the grandma I knew, was pretty amazing. The one problem with not knowing her biological family was that we also didn't know any medical history. If we did, it MIGHT have saved her life. When I was young, my mom was diagnosed with breast cancer. From what I remember, it was found at an early stage, thankfully. My mom still decided to have a bilateral mastectomy (removal of both breasts), and after she was healed, she wore a special bra that held implant-type molds to make it look like she still had breasts. I honestly don't remember much about when she had the surgery or how she dealt with it, although I really wish I did. Years later, when both my brother and I were visiting her one weekend, we were getting ready to go out with some friends and my mom said she needed to talk to us first. She sat us down and showed us a very official looking piece of paper. I remember after looking over it, I asked my mom what it meant. She was shaking by then and trying not to cry. She said that the cancer came back. At first, I shrugged it off and confidently said "It's ok, Momma. You will beat it again, just like you did the last time!" She shook her head and said "No, not this time." This time, it was pancreatic cancer. If you aren't very familiar with Pancreatic cancer, it is one that when it is found, it is usually too late. It was stage 4 and had metastasized to other parts of her body. She was given only a few months to live, but God gave her a little less than a year. During that time, I struggled with my new-found faith in Christ and almost hated going to see my mom (I was at college about an hour away) because I hated seeing her in so much pain and so depressed. I remembered the times when she was healthy and doing well and we would go shopping and we would have great talks and I just didn't want to lose that. During this year, my grandma Jane's health slowly began to decline as well. My mom always took care of her and now she wasn't able. Something that is still baffles me, although I am eternally grateful for, is that my step-mom, Ramona, stepped up and took care of both my mom AND my grandmother. It was a huge blessing! My mom refused to let me drop out of school to help her, saying it was too important, and honestly, I was scared to death to stay with her anyway. I will forever have it engraved in my mind what she looked like every time I went to visit, especially the very last time I saw her. Glory be to God though, my mom accepted Christ into her heart a month before she passed away. Because of this, I know, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that I'll see my mom again in Heaven. Let me tell you, if you do not have a personal relationship with Jesus, you are missing out. My mom died in December of 2006 and went to be with the Lord.
Fast foward 12 1/2 years...
I started working on genealogy about a year ago, trying to find my mom's biological family. I sent in a DNA test through Ancestry and from that, discovered many many cousins on my mom's side. None of them were able to fill in the blanks for me, but I did have a cousin, Thena, who helped me TREMENDOUSLY with my search. She helped fill in a lot of my mom's tree, although it still today remains a mystery as to who my mom's parents are.
Throughout the years, I've done a little research here and there about hereditary breast cancer. Within the past year or so, after talking with my father in law, who is a radiation oncologist, I discovered that there is another DNA test that can tell me if I had a gene mutation that was commonly found in breast cancer and pancreatic cancer (along with a few others). After what my mom went through, I felt in my gut that I would eventually get cancer, like her. BUT, I found out that by finding out my actual chances, I could possibly prevent it. After a lot of thought and prayer and talking to my husband, Ben, I decided to take the test. A few months ago (June 2019), I found out that I have a BRCA2 mutation. My chances of getting either breast cancer or ovarian cancer are up to 80%.
Since June, a plan has been formulated. If all goes well and I don't get diagnosed with cancer, the timeline is as follows: have another baby, 2 years or so later, have a prophylactic bilateral mastectomy (preventative surgery to remove both breasts) and immediate reconstruction, heal for another few years, and around age 40, have an salpingo-oophorectomy (removal of ovaries and fallopian tubes). The whole point of this blog is to share my journey with others to help build awareness and to hopefully help someone else who is or will be going through the same thing (you are not alone!!).
Why bright pink? Well, another thing I found out while doing research is that while the color pink is known for breast cancer awareness, bright pink is for prevention and awareness of breast and ovarian cancer in young adults (under the age of 40). Check out youngsurvival.org There is also a non-profit dedicated to this (brightpink.org). It is an absolute inspiration!
Many people have asked me...Why in the world would you want to have surgery for this if you don't even have cancer? My answer: my daughter. I REFUSE to leave my daughter before it is my time because of something I could have prevented and decided not to. Is surgery risky? Yes. I will take that risk to lower my chance of getting cancer and going through chemo and/or radiation by 90%.
So, if you have read this far, I applaud you. I thank you for joining me on this journey.
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