I was 26 years old when I found out that I had the brca1 gene. I remember being devastated as if someone had just told me I had cancer. My breast surgeon and oncologist tried to convince me to have a double mastectomy to reduce my chances of getting cancer but I was very hopeful that I would be that small percentage to never get cancer. December 25, 2014 I started getting a lot of pain in my left breast. It was so bad I had to take a pain pill. I started to worry but people told me to relax cause cancer isn't painful so it's probably something else causing the pain. I had a mammogram February 2015 which showed I had no cancer. I felt so much relief considering I was worried about the pain I had felt. I met with my oncologist a week later for a routine check up and her intern examined me first, I could tell by her reaction she felt something. My oncologist told me I have dense breast and sometimes my tissue will feel harder. Since she could see I was still nervous she sent me for a breast sonogram. The sonongram did show something, where the mammogram did not. I wound up needing a biopsy. The very next day after my biopsy I was told to come in. I knew walking into the office it wasn't going to be good news. Sure enough at the age of 28 I was diagnosed with invasive ductal cancer and triple negative cancer. There are no words to describe exactly how getting news like that feels. I was in denial, I made jokes, I cried. I didn't know how to react or believe this was happening to me. Since I got my results I have started the egg rescuing process to save my eggs before my double mastectomy and chemo. I just thank god that I was lucky enough to catch my cancer so early. And that I didn't just accept the mammo results, I followed my gut, because I knew something was wrong.

Anonymous
staten island, NY