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<p class = "canvas-atom canvas-text Mb (1.0em) Mb (0) – sm Mt (0.8em) – sm" type = "text" content = "What follows is the personal story of Kaylee Denmead, as Abby Haglage says. Denmead will undergo a double preventative mastectomy in November because she has achieved a positive result for a mutation in the gene called BRCA1, which greatly increases her chances of developing a form of breast cancer during her lifetime."data-reactid =" 32 ">What follows is the personal story of Kaylee Denmead, as Abby Haglage says. Denmead will undergo a double preventative mastectomy in November because she has achieved a positive result for a mutation in the gene called BRCA1, which greatly increases her chances of developing a form of breast cancer during her lifetime.
<p class = "canvas-atom canvas-text Mb (1.0em) Mb (0) – sm Mt (0.8em) – sm" type = "text" content = "Last month, my friends and I rented a studio, hired a photographer and took photos without a shirt – a "photo shoot within a boob", which we baptized in a fun way. In a sense, it was a fun chance to kiss our body, but in another sense it was something bigger – a way to preserve the past. "data-reactid =" 33 ">Last month, my friends and I rented a studio, hired a photographer and took photos without a shirt – a "photo shoot within a boob", which we baptized in a fun way. In a sense, it was a fun chance to kiss our body, but in another sense it was something bigger – a way to preserve the past.
<p class = "canvas-atom canvas-text Mb (1.0em) Mb (0) – sm Mt (0.8em) – sm" type = "text" content = "It's because I had a double preventive mastectomy in November. I'm only 24 years old. "data-reactid =" 34 ">It's because I had a double preventive mastectomy in November. I'm only 24 years old.
<p class = "canvas-atom canvas-text Mb (1.0em) Mb (0) – sm Mt (0.8em) – sm" type = "text" content = "I will never pretend that I am not afraid, I am afraid. But I do not doubt that this decision is the right one. In many ways, I have been preparing for this since I was 18 years old. That's when the doctors told me that I had a mutation called BRCA1, an altered gene that means there is a 72% risk of breast cancer before my 80th birthday (for an average woman, this represents 12%)."data-reactid =" 35 ">I will never pretend that I am not afraid, I am afraid. But I do not doubt that this decision is the right one. In many ways, I have been preparing for this since I was 18 years old. That's when the doctors told me that I had a mutation called BRCA1, an altered gene that means there is a 72% risk of breast cancer before my 80th birthday (for an average woman, this represents 12%).
<p class = "canvas-atom canvas-text Mb (1.0em) Mb (0) – sm Mt (0.8em) – sm" type = "text" content = "Some people decide to live with this risk. I am not one of them. For me, supporting breast cancer is not a distant nightmare, it's a reality I've seen closely. My mother found her first mass when I was in fourth grade. She was only 40 years old at the time – the president of the PTA, my biggest supporter and the kind of mother that every child wants. It was she who always brought extra snacks, the mother who would drive a classmate into distress at home, even if it was in the opposite direction."data-reactid =" 52 ">Some people decide to live with this risk. I am not one of them. For me, supporting breast cancer is not a distant nightmare, it's a reality I've seen closely. My mother found her first mass when I was in fourth grade. She was only 40 years old at the time – the president of the PTA, my biggest supporter and the kind of mother that every child wants. It was she who always brought extra snacks, the mother who would drive a classmate into distress at home, even if it was in the opposite direction.
<p class = "canvas-atom canvas-text Mb (1.0em) Mb (0) – sm Mt (0.8em) – sm" type = "text" content = "His diagnosis was made more than a decade ago, long before mutations in the BRCA gene were well known. So, despite a family history of breast cancer and a father who has had colon cancerdoctors treated his as a normal case. She was prescribed chemotherapy and radiation therapy, which she endured with a quiet force. She and my father were determined to lead a normal life with my brother and us, so we never knew the details. "data-reactid =" 53 ">His diagnosis was made more than a decade ago, long before mutations in the BRCA gene were well known. So, despite a family history of breast cancer and a father who has had colon cancerdoctors treated his as a normal case. She was prescribed chemotherapy and radiation therapy, which she endured with a quiet force. She and my father were determined to lead a normal life with my brother and us, so we never knew the details.
<p class = "canvas-atom canvas-text Mb (1.0em) Mb (0) – sm Mt (0.8em) – sm" type = "text" content = "After almost two years of treatment, she went into remission. But my mother – my wonderful mother – was not one to wait. She felt that cancer was more than just bad luck and asked the doctor to test her to determine if a genetic component was associated with the disease. The insurance companies did not cover then the BRCA test, so she and my dad had to pay for themselves. He came back positive for BRCA1. "data-reactid =" 54 ">After almost two years of treatment, she went into remission. But my mother – my wonderful mother – was not one to wait. She felt that cancer was more than just bad luck and asked the doctor to test her to determine if a genetic component was associated with the disease. The insurance companies did not cover then the BRCA test, so she and my dad had to pay for themselves. He came back positive for BRCA1.
Kaylee, left, and her mother. (Photo courtesy of Kaylee Denmead)
<p class = "canvas-atom canvas-text Mb (1.0em) Mb (0) – sm Mt (0.8em) – sm" type = "text" content = "As a result of this examination, the doctor told her that if she spent two years in remission, it would be good, and five years, it would be great. She immediately underwent a double mastectomy and reconstruction in the hope of reducing her risks. But ILess than two years later, she was diagnosed with breast cancer in five parts of her body. Looking back, I do not know how she went on. She knew that her second diagnosis was the beginning of the end. But in a way she did it. She was what I called a sick and functional person: she always participated in events, continued volunteering at my school and continued to follow our lives. "data-reactid =" 75 ">As a result of this examination, the doctor told her that if she spent two years in remission, it would be good, and five years, it would be great. She immediately underwent a double mastectomy and reconstruction in the hope of reducing her risks. But ILess than two years later, she was diagnosed with breast cancer in five parts of her body. Looking back, I do not know how she went on. She knew that her second diagnosis was the beginning of the end. But in a way she did it. She was what I called a sick and functional person: she always participated in events, continued volunteering at my school and continued to follow our lives.
<p class = "canvas-atom canvas-text Mb (1.0em) Mb (0) – sm Mt (0.8em) – sm" type = "text" content = "The end came slowly and then all at once. In early October 2009, two years after his diagnosis, the doctors told him that they could not do anything else. She died less than a month later, on October 24th. She had just turned 47; I was 15 years old. No matter how much we knew it was going to happen, we were unprepared. You are never prepared. "data-reactid =" 81 ">The end came slowly and then all at once. In early October 2009, two years after his diagnosis, the doctors told him that they could not do anything else. She died less than a month later, on October 24th. She had just turned 47; I was 15 years old. No matter how much we knew it was going to happen, we were unprepared. You are never prepared.
<p class = "canvas-atom canvas-text Mb (1.0em) Mb (0) – sm Mt (0.8em) – sm" type = "text" content = "My mother's fight with breast cancer has shaped my whole life – she has been sick for a third of my childhood. After her second diagnosis, she never thought that she would be better, and she knew that she would be ill until her death. So, in the months leading up to her death, she started writing a diary for my brother and me. Subsequently, my aunt printed copies and gave each of us a bound copy to keep. It is 65 pages long. Some entries contain affirmations; some simply explain how she felt. Others provide details on the mutation of the BRCA gene and information that we need to know."data-reactid =" 82 ">My mother's fight with breast cancer has shaped my whole life – she has been sick for a third of my childhood. After her second diagnosis, she never thought that she would be better, and she knew that she would be ill until her death. So, in the months leading up to her death, she started writing a diary for my brother and me. Subsequently, my aunt printed copies and gave each of us a bound copy to keep. It is 65 pages long. Some entries contain affirmations; some simply explain how she felt. Others provide details on the mutation of the BRCA gene and information that we need to know.
<p class = "canvas-atom canvas-text Mb (1.0em) Mb (0) – sm Mt (0.8em) – sm" type = "text" content = "I had his memory and that diary whirling in my head the day I read an article that finally triggered everything. It was published by the New York Times in 2013, entitled "My medical choice, Written by Angelina Jolie. In this letter, she described her decision to undergo a double mastectomy, inspired both by the death of her mother from breast cancer at the age of 56 and by the fact that she had the BRCA1 mutation itself. "data-reactid =" 99 ">I had his memory and that diary whirling in my head the day I read an article that finally triggered everything. It was published by the New York Times in 2013, entitled "My medical choice, Written by Angelina Jolie. In this letter, she described her decision to undergo a double mastectomy, inspired both by the death of her mother from breast cancer at the age of 56 and by the fact that she had the BRCA1 mutation itself.
<p class = "canvas-atom canvas-text Mb (1.0em) Mb (0) – sm Mt (0.8em) – sm" type = "text" content = "I remember that I was on an internship in New York at the time and people were talking about it in the office. I thought it was a nice room, but it made me think of everything and I had to leave early. I was 18 years old at the time and I knew then that I needed to know. Shortly after, I sat down with my father and told him about my plans, and then the rest of my family as well. I asked my grandfather, my mother's father, if he would come too. Since he had colon cancer, we thought the gene probably started with him, and I wanted to know for sure."data-reactid =" 100 ">I remember that I was on an internship in New York at the time and people were talking about it in the office. I thought it was a nice room, but it made me think of everything and I had to leave early. I was 18 years old at the time and I knew then that I needed to know. Shortly after, I sat down with my father and told him about my plans, and then the rest of my family as well. I asked my grandfather, my mother's father, if he would come too. Since he had colon cancer, we thought the gene probably started with him, and I wanted to know for sure.
Photo courtesy of Kaylee Denmead
<p class = "canvas-atom canvas-text Mb (1.0em) Mb (0) – sm Mt (0.8em) – sm" type = "text" content = "This fall, my grandfather and I went for a test. It was a day full of emotion. We went to my mother's doctor and, for the first time since her death, we saw her and all the nurses who had been treating her for seven years. They knew my mother as few people. Since I look a lot like him, they could see his face in mine. It was surreal, it's the least we can say. "data-reactid =" 121 ">This fall, my grandfather and I went for a test. It was a day full of emotion. We went to my mother's doctor and, for the first time since her death, we saw her and all the nurses who had been treating her for seven years. They knew my mother as few people. Since I look a lot like him, they could see his face in mine. It was surreal, it's the least we can say.
<p class = "canvas-atom canvas-text Mb (1.0em) Mb (0) – sm Mt (0.8em) – sm" type = "text" content = "It took a few weeks to get the results, but when the genetic counselor asked me to come in to get the results, I knew. I was admitted to the high-risk program of the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York, where doctors told me I should do surveillance checks every few months. After six years, I began to feel that I was just waiting to be sick. I therefore talked to the surgeons about my options and explained to them the reasons why I wanted to undergo the operation."data-reactid =" 122 ">It took a few weeks to get the results, but when the genetic counselor asked me to come in to get the results, I knew. I was admitted to the high-risk program of the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York, where doctors told me I should do surveillance checks every few months. After six years, I began to feel that I was just waiting to be sick. I therefore talked to the surgeons about my options and explained to them the reasons why I wanted to undergo the operation.
<p class = "canvas-atom canvas-text Mb (1.0em) Mb (0) – sm Mt (0.8em) – sm" type = "text" content = "We agreed that it was the best option for me. I am still convinced that this is the case and I look forward to the end of the waiting period. I decided to do it in November, in the fall, my favorite season. That way, I have the holidays just around the corner to cheer me up. I trained at Tough Mudder in the weeks before, which reminds me of how strong I can be. "data-reactid =" 123 ">We agreed that it was the best option for me. I am still convinced that this is the case and I look forward to the end of the waiting period. I decided to do it in November, in the fall, my favorite season. That way, I have the holidays just around the corner to cheer me up. I trained at Tough Mudder in the weeks before, which reminds me of how strong I can be.
<p class = "canvas-atom canvas-text Mb (1.0em) Mb (0) – sm Mt (0.8em) – sm" type = "text" content = "Unexpectedly, the part for which I am most nervous is not the operation itself, but the after-effects. I am rebuilding, which I have always planned, but the fact that I have no feeling makes me completely lose a loop. I think most women work very hard to get to a place where they like their bodies. It is a project for which I worked very hard and with which I struggled a lot. I am nervous after all that is said and done about what I will think of my body. Will I look in the mirror and be happy with what I see? Or will it never be good enough again?"data-reactid =" 124 ">Unexpectedly, the part for which I am most nervous is not the operation itself, but the after-effects. I am rebuilding, which I have always planned, but the fact that I have no feeling makes me completely lose a loop. I think most women work very hard to get to a place where they like their bodies. It is a project for which I worked very hard and with which I struggled a lot. I am nervous after all that is said and done about what I will think of my body. Will I look in the mirror and be happy with what I see? Or will it never be good enough again?
<p class = "canvas-atom canvas-text Mb (1.0em) Mb (0) – sm Mt (0.8em) – sm" type = "text" content = "My family and friends support me tremendously and I created a group called Breasties that I love. But in such moments, my mother misses me the most. I wish she was here to talk to me through this, to tell me that everything will be fine. It's really hard that she could not see the adult I would become. Knowing that it is something that connects us – even if it's negative – gives me power. She died before she could see that. But I like to think that she may be looking and resting more easily knowing that I came out of the other side."data-reactid =" 125 ">My family and friends support me tremendously and I created a group called Breasties that I love. But in such moments, my mother misses me the most. I wish she was here to talk to me through this, to tell me that everything will be fine. It's really hard that she could not see the adult I would become. Knowing that it is something that connects us – even if it's negative – gives me power. She died before she could see that. But I like to think that she may be looking and resting more easily knowing that I came out of the other side.
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