I have debated posting this for weeks,
and I’m still not sure sharing this with the world is the right decision, but talking
about it on an individual basis has been rough, and there are a number of
people I still feel ought to know, so I’m just throwing it all out there into
the universe. I’ve rewritten this half a dozen times, and in the end decided to
be brief. After recent testing I learned that I’m a carrier for the BRCA2 mutation.
If you’re unfamiliar with what this means there are a number of helpful links
and resources in this post. The gist is
that my risk for breast and ovarian cancer is much higher than that of the
general population. My mother is a breast cancer survivor, who later underwent
elective mastectomy and oophorectomy when she got her BRCA2 diagnosis about 15
years ago. Her mother was also a breast cancer survivor (twice, because our
family has all the fun), and many other family members have had breast cancer.
While not every BRCA mutation
carrier would choose to undergo surgery I decided many years ago that if I was
a carrier I would do so. Nothing I have read or heard in the last 6 weeks of
research has changed my mind. I will have a hysterectomy, and bilateral
mastectomy with reconstruction in August and September. I don’t plan to share a
ton of detail about the whys and wherefores of exactly what procedures I’ve
chosen (though if you look up Angelina Jolie a very similar course was
recommended to me, sadly it won’t come with her looks or money attached), but
suffice it to say that I have researched options, spoken to a number of great
doctors and am at peace with the decisions.
I hope to be away from work for no
more than 8 weeks, and to do some “sitting friendly” work from home between
surgeries. A wonderful staff member will take over my storytimes at the library,
and I am very grateful to her, as well as to my wonderful director, who only
said “tell us what you need.” This whole situation has put me in a weird place
of both desperately wanting to share and talk about this, and not wanting
anyone to know, or to tell anyone. Those who know me well will know that I’m
extremely private, and modest, and I certainly had no intention to ever post a
conversation on the internet with even this much discussion about my body. Oddly
up to now my husband has actually told more people than I have, and if you know
him you know he’s not a gregarious man. However, you also probably know that as
a librarian I have researched the dickens out of this situation and could not
pass up the opportunity to point you to the following resources if you, or
someone you know, ever face this decision. Huge thanks to the handful in the
know, who have offered us help. Accepting help is not something that is easy
for me, but I’m going to try very hard to take you up
on it.
Facing Our Risk of Cancer Empowered
Does Breast or Ovarian Cancer Run in Your Family?
BRCA1 and BRCA2
Do you need genetic testing for breast cancer?
#screwucancer
Funky Genes
The Breast Reconstruction Guidebook by Kathy Steligo
Now What? A Patient's Guide to Recovery After Mastectomy by Amy Curran Baker
