By: Kate Padberg I am a previvor. Previvor is a term used to describe a person with a genetic predisposition to cancer that monitors and, in my case, alters their body to prevent cancer from occurring. Cancer runs in my family as a result of a genetic mutation called BRCA1. Almost every person in my family has had cancer. It…
KINTSUGI: Stacie-Rae O’Sunshine KINTSUGI – The ancient Japanese art of mending broken objects with gold, making them stronger than before. It was the Beginning of 2010, and the reality of my mothers death from ovarian cancer was barely settling in when we got the letter from the Canadian Cancer Society that she was, in fact, BRCA1 positive. 2 days later…
BY: Krystal Totherow In 2020 I have decided to live in the present. I am presently BRCA1 positive. Presently at an 87% risk of Breast Cancer and 43% risk of Ovarian Cancer. Presently mourning the loss of my mom, the loss of my boobs. Presently terrified of this mastectomy and who I will be after. Presently knowing I’ll never have…
BY: Dr. Amy Lynn Safaty Hi! My name is Dr. Amy Lynn Safaty. I am 29 years old, a pharmacist, lover of all things Disney and I am positive for the BRCA2 mutation. I decided to be tested for the BRCA gene when I was 27, soon after my mom was diagnosed with breast cancer. She was negative for the…
By: Erica Clem 8 years ago, my 24 year old self was entering my second year of teaching. Bright eyed and ambitious, I had the world at my fingertips. I had just returned from a summer traveling Europe, had received a fellowship to pursue my Master’s Degree, blissfully continued my college relationship and deciding where my best friend and I…
“That’s been a lot of coping and a lot of counseling,” Childers said about her diagnosis in 2011. “My anxiety was so enormous before the surgery that I broke a cast iron skillet.” Childers said: “I banged it on the counter a couple million times, because it sounded good. It sounded like what I was feeling. It’s rough.” For full…
