Hello everyone. I know I left you all hanging after my last post, and I do intend to finish the story by writing about the phenomenal event we held in November and all of the amazing people who helped make it a reality.

That said, I want to take this opportunity to digress a little bit. You see, a few weeks ago I got some life-changing news when I learned that I am BRCA2 positive. This means that I am at a much higher risk for developing breast and ovarian cancer (along with several other GI cancers and melanoma) than the general population.

While this was difficult information to receive, I can’t say that I was particularly surprised by the news. Ever since my mom was found to have carried this same mutation by the oncologist treating her cancer, I was aware that I had a 50/50 chance of having the gene myself and I just had a feeling I was going to fall on the wrong side of that statistic. In fact, I had already known for months what I would do if I learned I was a carrier of this particular mutation. My plan is to wait until I am done having my children, at which point I will undergo an aggressive screening regimen to include alternating bi-yearly mammograms and breast MRIs, along with frequent ultrasounds of my ovaries and regular colonoscopies. Once my husband and I feel that our family is complete, I will move forward with a double mastectomy and a full hysterectomy, which will drastically reduce my odds of developing breast and ovarian cancer. I know that having these prophylactic surgeries will seem like drastic steps to some, but I feel that this is the right choice for me.

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