Save "Young Previvors"

At the beginning of my "BRCA journey" I felt so alone.  Everytime I mentioned BRCA to a family member or friend they would give me a sympathetic look but didn't really know what to say.  I wanted to meet someone who was in the same situation that I was in.  Someone who had the BRCA mutation and was faced with the difficult decision on deciding what to do with this knowledge.  I felt like I was the only person in the world who had to make this decision.

I reached out to Susan G. Komen who introduced me to FORCE (Facing Our Risk of Cancer Empowered).  Through FORCE's message boards I realized that there is a whole community of women out there with a BRCA mutation.  There was such a wide demographic of women... some had breast cancer, some did not, some were old, some were young.  The women who did not have breast cancer but chose to have Prophylactic Mastectomies even had a name for themselves - Previvors.  I suddenly realized that I am not alone!  I am a previvor!

I mad a wonderful friend through the FORCE message boards.  Her name is Vikkie.  She's my "British friend".  Vikkie was my first "BRCA friend", a girl my age with the BRCA mutation and about to undergo a PBM.  I truly believe that we were meant to be friends, even though we're an ocean apart.  Vikkie is having her PBM on February 12th, so we will be recovering together!

In September I heard about a Facebook Group called "Young Previvors".  Since this is a closed group I sent a request to join.  Immediately I found an overwhelming amount of support from girls who were Previvors and Survivors.  Some of the girls had undergone prophylactic mastectomies, oopherectomies and hysterectomies.  Others were choosing surveillance.  This group is a safe haven for nearly 200 women to express their fears and anxieties associated with having an increased risk of breast and ovarian cancer due to genetics. It is a private place where we leave our differences at the door. There's no judging, no criticizing. Just love and support from women who understand. I've made so many friends within this group. I don't think I would be nearly as confident in my decision to have a prophylactic mastectomy if it hadn't been for this group.

Today, January 25, 2013, facebook deleted "Young Previvors". The details as to why the group was removed are unknown. The admin, along with many of the women in the group, are fighting with all our might to get our page back. That's what previvors are - fighters.

Please take a moment to like the public "Young Previvors" page.  Give Us Back Our Support
We are hoping and praying to get facebook's attention and bring our private page back.  You can also e-mail disabled@facebook.com and personally request for our page to be brought back.

Thank you everyone for your support!