No one has questioned my decision to have a prophylactic mastectomy. Nobody has told me that I was making a horrible decision or that I was crazy for doing so. Perhaps once I tell them about my family history of breast cancer and that I *had* an 87% chance of getting breast cancer they realize how serious having a BRCA1 mutation is.
Not all women are as fortunate to have the great support that I've had. There are many critics opposed to mastectomies, whether they be preventative or not. Since 1996, when genetic testing for BRCA mutations became available, there has been a large spike in women choosing mastectomies over lumpectomies or doing it preventatively. This article from CNN goes into more details on.
http://www.cnn.com/2013/03/13/health/double-mastectomy-rates-up/index.html?hpt=hp_t2
Having an aunt lose her battle with breast cancer in her thirties and seeing my Mom-mom battling breast cancer for the second time at 90-years-old, plus having a BRCA1 mutation that was the cause of their suffering, made having a prophylactic mastectomy a no brainer. Don't get me wrong, it was not an easy decision to surgically remove my breasts. There was a lot of research involved and many restless nights crying over what felt like the inevitable. When you're told that it's not a matter of if, but when you will get breast cancer, you begin to reprioritize your life. Do I want to die from this disease? No. Do I want my son to grow up without a mother? No. Plain and simple, I don't want to die from breast cancer.
There seems to be this stigma in society that breasts are what define a woman. It takes a strong woman to decide to remove her breasts, and that's might intimidate some people. For example, when Miss Washington DC, Allyn Rose, opened up about her decision to have a prophylactic bilateral mastectomy once her duties with Miss America were complete, people bombarded her facebook page pleading with her not to do. There was a lot of support for Ms. Rose, but I was shocked to find that mainly men were practically begging her not to have this surgery. Their reasoning ranges from "your're too beautiful" to "eat an apple and a carrot everyday and you won't get breast cancer." I'm sure standing on my head whilst balancing balls on my nose and wearing a green tutu will prevent us from getting breast cancer too.
In my opinion, the reason we are seeing an increasd in mastectomies is because there is so much more information out there today than there was twenty years ago. Plastic surgeons can do amazing things with reconstruction techniques so that women don't feel so "deformed" or "unwomanly" after this surgery. Many women who carry a BRCA mutation have witnessed loved ones suffer from breast and/or ovarian cancer. Now those women have a chance to stop what may be the inevitable.
A quote in the article I mentioned earlier states, "We want quick solutions, and we expect there's an answer to every problem. In many cases these women don't need double.
My choice to have a mastectomy was not a quick solution, and it certainly was not an answer to all of my problems. If someone told you that if you get on an airplane you have an 87% chance of that plsne crashing with you in it, would you fly on that plane? I wouldn't. My breasts didn't define me as a woman, but they did consume me with fear. Maybe I didn't need to have a mastectomy, but I certainly didn't need to have my life taken from me by breast cancer.
Until next time...
Xoxo
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