BRCA1 Mutation: 33 Real Stories
33 stories match BRCA1 mutation. 31 of them mention surgery.
BRCA1 Breast Cancer: Muriel’s Survivor Story
Muriel Verger was diagnosed with triple-negative breast cancer in 2015, when she was 33 and close to turning 34. She also reported a BRCA1 abnormality. Because the tumor was not large, her surgical treatment was a tumorectomy, also understood as…
Read this storyTriple-Negative Breast Cancer: Melanie’s Survivor Story
Melanie Nix grew up knowing that breast and ovarian cancer ran through her family. Her grandmother had breast cancer, her mother was diagnosed when Melanie was 8, and her three aunts had breast cancer, ovarian cancer, or both. Because of that history, Melanie…
Read this storyStage III BRCA1 Ovarian Cancer: Patty’s Patient Story
Patty Klein was in her late 40s when severe pain in her side led to imaging and a diagnosis of Stage III ovarian cancer. The pain came from fluid building up in her abdomen. After diagnosis, she learned that she carried a BRCA1 mutation, which was also found…
Read this storyStage II BRCA1 Invasive Ductal Carcinoma: Roxana’s Patient Story
Roxana Lopez was 25 when she was diagnosed with Stage II invasive ductal carcinoma in her left breast in August 2015. Breast and ovarian cancer had affected several women in her family, including her mother, who died of breast cancer when Roxana and her twin…
Read this storyStage II BRCA1 Ovarian Cancer: Barb’s Patient Story
In February 2014, at age 50, Barb White underwent a hysterectomy to remove a large suspicious cyst. The surgery confirmed Stage II ovarian cancer, which had spread to her uterus. Three weeks later, she began chemotherapy. Barb had a severe allergic reaction…
Read this storyBRCA1 Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer: Nadine’s Survivor Story
Nadine Beech was 27, healthy and a non-smoker when she was diagnosed with non-small cell lung cancer in 1997. After she started spitting up blood following a water-skiing accident, the problem was first treated as a bruised lung. Several doctors later, an 8…
Read this storyStage II BRCA1 Breast Cancer: Mariana’s Patient Story
At age 30, this patient found a large lump in her left breast after noticing a brief pain. A mammogram, ultrasound and biopsy led to a Stage II breast cancer diagnosis. Because several relatives had developed cancer at young ages, she was also referred for…
Read this storyStage III BRCA1 Ovarian Cancer: Meredith’s Survivor Story
Meredith Ippolito’s ovarian cancer was discovered unexpectedly in 2008. She had sought care for rectal bleeding, and a colonoscopy found flat polyps but no cancer. Doctors decided to perform a colon resection. During that operation, cancer was found, and…
Read this storyStage I BRCA1 Breast Cancer: Karen’s Patient Story
Karen first had a breast lump biopsied and learned that it was a benign galactocele. A separate, asymptomatic lesion was found in the other breast and became the focus of follow-up. When it was rechecked and biopsied three months later, it was diagnosed as…
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