About Me

I am 41 years old and Mother to Tyler who is 8!

Someone asked me what my story was. I had to think about it but then I realized my story actually started when I was 16.
One day my mother came home from her doctors appointment in NYC and said she spoke with her doctor and there had been some studies that showed being on the birth control pill would reduce my risk of ovarian cancer. See my mother was diagnosed with stage 4 ovarian cancer when she was 32. Her mother had passed away from it at age 42. She wanted to give me the best chance of not getting it. Back then it was just through the blood test ca 125 and going to the gynecologist every 6 months. My Mom was pretty open with me about her cancer I was young so I don't really remember too much when she had it but she wanted to make sure I never got it. We had discussed over the years when I was done having kids I would have a hysterectomy. The one thing we never discussed was breast cancer.
In 1997 my Moms cancer came back she kept thinking she had a cold. Her cough would come and go. Finally in June she had a scan done on her lungs and it showed a mass and then it spread to her bones. My Mom went really quick. She passed away on July 29th.
After she passed sometime later my gynecologist brought up having the genetic testing done to see if I carry the BRACA gene. At first I resisted a little. I wasn't sure I wanted to know. It would be expensive to have the test. I was advised not to go through insurance because it could be considered a pre existing cause. I finally decided to have the testing done it came back positive for the BRACA 2 gene. My doctor was mostly concerned with the ovarian side of it because of the strong family history of ovarian cancer. I went every six months without fail to get examined and to have a sonogram. They told me to start doing mammograms at age 35. So once a year I would have one done.
Since Richie and I were debating on having another child I decided to go on the pill once more. This was June 2012 the doctor also gave me my prescription for the mammogram to have it done by August. Since we were moving and breast cancer was the last thing on my mind I pushed it off. One day in September Richie touched me and felt the lump. For some reason I knew right away it was cancer. So when I went for the mammogram I told the tech. When I went back for the ultrasound you could tell by the look on their face even if they did try to hide it.
I am glad I did not wait for my doctor to call me and I took matters into my own hands. I got the whole process started much earlier then if I would have waited and the outcome might have been different. But right now I am happy but scared I am worried that when all said and done this will come back and I won't be around to watch Tyler get older and married.
But knowing what I know now will help me I am giving myself the best odds of this not coming back.
I am ready to start this new chapter in my life.
Since my diagnosis and surgeries I have decided to separate from my husband of 9 years. This had been a hard decision but was something that was good for Tyler and me. The ex has moved to another state and I am here with Tyler.