LAURIE
DIAGNOSIS: Age 34 | Stage 3
GENETICS: Father died of breast cancer
BRCA: Tested negative for mutation
1 in 100 breast cancers diagnosed in the US is found in a man (CDC). Family genetics (her father) was one of the only warning signs for Laurie due to testing negative for all genetic mutations which have been identified as of today.
The National Institutes of Health tracks more than 2,000 variants of the BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutations, but new mutations are being discovered every year. All women have BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes, but only some women have mutations in those genes.
Having a BRCA mutation means you have a likelihood of 45% to 85% for developing breast cancer in your lifetime, along with a 10% to 46% chance of ovarian cancer. That's considerably more than the probability of breast cancer among the general population, which is about 12%, or about one in eight. (John Hopkins)
Some women with BRCA 1 or BRCA 2 mutations elect to have preventive mastectomies to avoid a future breast cancer diagnosis.
It is important to know if you or someone in your family has a genetic mutation because there is a 50% chance of passing that trait to his or her children.
Read more about how breast cancer survivor, Laurie, navigated her breast health decisions, her cancer diagnosis and treatment journey in the book ‘No Longer Radical.’