After breast cancer, the removal of my ovaries is synonymous with empowerment



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Dani with her three daughters (Photo: Dani Binnington)

By the time you read this, you would have made some choices. Choices that directly or indirectly affect your health, large or small.

Did you climb the stairs or take the escalator?

Did you choose a fruit or a bar of chocolate?

Often we do not even think about making these choices, we use the autopilot.

I have chosen to undergo surgery reducing the risks to remove my ovaries over the next few weeks.

I will be 40 years old next year and I am now preparing for what will be the menopause – much earlier than it would have happened naturally and much more intensely, I am told.

It's my personal choice to undergo this operation and I feel lucky to be able to make that decision. Like many other things in my life, I hope that it will allow me to live – healthy and fulfilling – for many years.

I can not say that I'm not so worried about what I'm going to feel and deal with all that the next few months are going to get me, because of course I am.

Five years ago, I was diagnosed with a type of aggressive breast cancer. My twins were two years old at the time, and my eldest daughter was four years old.

My treatment included surgery, chemotherapy and radiation therapy. Once finished, my life started to crumble, my mental health was low and I felt anxious.

As a busy mother of three girls, life can be stressful, and I feel upset some nights, but most of the time, I can honestly say that I feel good.

I was afraid my cancer would come back and I would not see my kids go to school. Today it's been five years since I was diagnosed and I have to work hard to regain a feeling of well-being, to feel less anxious, to rebuild my "home".

And every day, I made choices, whether to follow a healthy diet, to exercise or to consult.

As a busy mother of three girls, life can be stressful, and I feel upset some nights, but most of the time, I can honestly say that I feel good.

I even turned my approach into a business, teaching yoga and sharing recipes that helped my recovery on my blog.

So when I was told that there was a chance that my breast cancer was linked to a defective gene, I had a better equipped toolbox to help me with it. the upsetting news.

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I have the BRCA1 gene, sometimes called "Angelina Jolie gene". This increases my risk of breast and ovarian cancers, and although I feel bad and I am concerned about what to do with my new diagnosis, I also felt incredibly lucky to know .

My grandmother and my two aunts were much less fortunate. All three died after a long battle with ovarian cancer. They were wonderful, strong and courageous women and they all wore the defective gene. Exactly like me.

But the biggest difference is that I can massively reduce my risk of developing breast and ovarian cancer. It's a choice I've made and for me, it's the only good choice.

He just feels empowering.

PLUS: Add these two hashtags to your next Instagram post for £ 19 to donate to breast cancer research

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