What happened, in summary

In 2017, this nurse underwent a mammogram after her doctor raised concerns about very high inflammatory markers and a family history of ovarian cancer. The mammogram detected early-stage breast cancer. A second evaluation at MD Anderson showed that the breast cancer was more invasive than first thought.

Her team recommended genetic testing while she was preparing for breast-conserving surgery. Two days before the planned operation, the results showed an inherited BRCA1 mutation. That finding changed the surgical plan because of her future breast cancer risk.

In November 2017, she underwent a double mastectomy with complete reconstruction. The breast cancer had been caught early, with clean surgical margins and no lymph node invasion, and she did not need additional breast cancer treatment.

Three months later, while preparing for preventive gynecologic surgery because of the BRCA1-associated ovarian cancer risk, testing revealed that she also had ovarian cancer. That diagnosis began a separate treatment journey. Her experience as both a nurse and a patient gave her a new perspective on the value of thorough evaluation, genetic testing and a care team that could adapt quickly when new information changed the treatment plan.