A Brave and Personal Choice
Hi. My name is Joanne. It is a touch ironic that I've been asked to write my story for a blog post for a company that designs bras. It was not that long ago that I was faced with the possibility that I may never wear a bra again.
I was living a very happy, busy, and sometimes quiet life. My husband and I had been married for 16 years. We had 3 children aged 8, 11 and 14. I spent much of my time driving them to all of their numerous activities, volunteering at the school, and managing their full calendars. When I wasn't in the car, I enjoyed exercising, cooking and entertaining. Life was simple and good. Then my mother got the news that she had ovarian cancer. Not good.
We knew very little about the disease except that it was scary. My mom was diagnosed at stage four. She went through a lot, and we all went through it with her. As we became educated about her condition, we learned that there was the potential that it was something that I could genetically inherit. I would have preferred to have kept it to inheriting her infectious laugh. My mother tested positive for the BRCA2 gene. This gene gives you a 45% to 85% chance of developing breast cancer along with a 10% to 46% chance of developing ovarian cancer.
Ovarian cancer is very difficult to detect. It is often caught too late. The only option to prevent this difficult to detect cancer is to surgically remove the ovaries and fallopian tubes. This decision was easy. I had already had my children. The decision to have a double mastectomy, with reconstructive surgery, was difficult, however it is the best way to diagnose breast cancer. . I thought maybe I could risk keeping my breasts. But I was uncomfortable with any cancer in my body. One of my tests included an ultrasound. They did discover a lump. It turned out to be benign, but the 48-hour waiting period was something I did not want to ever experience again.
Angelina Jolie was very brave and open about the fact that her mom had passed away from the disease. She revealed that she had made the decision to undergo some fairly extensive preventative surgery. While our circumstances were slightly different, I appreciated her willingness to use her celebrity platform to validate a decision that I knew deep down that I had to make.
Six months later I elected to go ahead with the operation. I would like to say right now that I am so grateful that I had the opportunity to be tested and treated in whatever way I wanted to choose. I'm also grateful that Angelina shared her story so that I didn't feel so alone. That's why I'm sharing my story today.
After a number of surgeries, some set-backs and endless doctor's appointments, I'm relieved to say that I am in a good place now. I've got my health and my happy, busy, and sometimes quiet life back. I have so much gratitude for the surgeons who worked with me to find the best way to manage my concerns. My mom is still fighting the good fight. We are both thankful to modern medicine and the teams of people who are continuing to research and develop new treatments for this devastating disease.
I am also thrilled to say that I have been wearing my favourite Bravado Bra and I love it!
*All data shared was derived from personal experience.
