I am retired US Navy and two years before my official retirement, I was sent to Iraq. No problem, that is my job as a corpsman to my Marines and off I went. Two months after my return, I found a lump in my left breast and had it checked. To make a long story somewhat short, it was malignant, had spread to lymph nodes, and I had chemo and radiation. Ok, again, I did my job and survived for the sake of my little children (My youngest was 2 years old at the time) . My BRCA test came back with an anomaly and my mom was tested too and she had the same anomaly. It seems this little gene does not distinguish between breast and ovarian cancer; my maternal grandmother died some years back from ovarian cancer and my mother had a TAH and ovarian removal over 30 years back. Coincidence? Maybe it was meant to express in my mom's ovaries but they were gone. She has no signs/symptoms of any breast cancer and she is now 74 years old.
I opted for a bilateral mastectomy with concurrent reconstruction from my abdomen and later a total hysterectomy with ovaries removed. My dilemma is how to I prepare my daughter, who is now 10 years old, to make the decision of a lifetime-to be tested for the BRCA anomaly or not. I have six healthy, robust sons from two marriages who are proud of me and my decisions I have made. To add to all of this, I have a profound case of PTSD from my sojourn to Iraq-it is rough for a mom to send boys home KIA that were the same age as my elder sons. But I am a survivor; I retired with 26 years of honorable service to my country, relocated to be closer to my mom and get away from the reminders of Iraq, and I still wake up every morning wondering what the day will bring. I live for my children and 3 grandsons and every day is a struggle, emotionally.
Celestine, IN