Reducing Risk One Breast at a Time
By Deborah Cartwright
Littleton, CO

My mother was beautiful, funny, and everyone's friend. She was diagnosed with breast cancer in 1974, she was 32 years old. I watched her go in and out of the hospital through chemotherapy. I rode my bike to the hospital before school to feed her breakfast. We moved the hospital bed home so she could hear the sounds of kids walking home after school. I was in second grade when my mother died, October 8th, 1976.

My father immediately took charge and explained to my brother and I that the three of us would be OK. He let us know that we would go on and that nothing could bring us down. This attitude he instilled helped me make important future decisions regarding my own health.

My mother's premature departure from earth inspired me to choose genetic testing. The test was appropriate because my mother's family was riddled with cancer. Her oldest sister had breast cancer, her mother had breast cancer, and her younger sister had colon cancer. More importantly the breast cancer was premenopausal. The test is simple. In a matter of seconds they drew blood. Three weeks later they told me what I already knew. I tested positive for BRCA1, one of two identified breast cancer genes. A positive test means that I have an 87% lifetime risk of breast cancer and a 44% lifetime risk of ovarian cancer.

In response to the positive test result, the first of many options was to do nothing. All I could think of was waiting to die. Only once did I call it a death sentence. My husband quickly reminded me it was a life sentence. I could choose increased surveillance, chemoprevention, or prophylactic surgery.

Growing up without a mother inspired me to take immediate action. I have four daughters and can only choose life to spare them a motherless childhood. My father is a great man, but no one ever really fills in for your mother. I read a lot after I received my test result and remember words like drastic, radical, and controversial regarding prophylactic mastectomy. I wasn't feeling drastic or radical. I was busy consulting with surgeons and finding out how to coordinate them to perform surgery together on the same day. I received my test results on May 7th, 2007. I had prophylactic bilateral simple complete mastectomies and a salpingo-oophorectomy on July 31, 2007. I am sore, but very empowered. My new risk for breast cancer is 4-5% and 2-4% for ovarian cancer. What a fabulous time to be a woman. Women deserve choices in women's health issues. I was afraid of breast cancer and became even more afraid of ovarian cancer. I'm not afraid anymore. As I recover, I watch my youngest daughter bring me ice water and feel as if I'm looking into a mirror. I was that caretaker for my own mother. I celebrate the change I've created and see the confidence in my daughter's face. She understands that I don't have cancer and that I've done everything I can to stop it.

I will listen closely and smile when the kids walk down our street after school. I am inspired by life.


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