Not If, But When: Ending Hereditary Disease

"It's not a matter of if you'll get cancer, it's a matter of when." No one wants to hear those words. But I did. My doctor's exact quote when informing me of my BRCA1 gene mutation. The diagnosis wasn't a shock after knowing my maternal grandmother died in her early 50s of breast cancer and my mother was diagnosed at 75. I immediately started notifying family members since the mutation is hereditary. As a result, my sister, my son, and my nephew all tested positive for the mutation. My niece was sparred. As a result of my BRCA1 journey, I decided to surgically reduce my chances of getting breast and ovarian cancer. Tough choices. But so necessary for me and my family.

ConnectMyVariant is dedicated to ending hereditary diseases like BRCA1. The goal is to get families talking about diseases passed from one generation to the next. Please help support these efforts by donating today.