This is exactly right.

Throughout this series, we'll be discussing many aspects of cancer diagnosis and treatment,

and we will be sharing several personal stories related to cancer.

Some listeners might find this content upsetting.

Please listen with discretion.

My name is Christina, and I'm a healthy,

cancer-free, 30-year-old woman who is about to undergo a double mastectomy. Let me tell you why.

My aunt Helen was diagnosed with breast cancer at age 34 and ultimately passed away 10 years later when I was 13. Just a few years later, still reeling from the loss of our beloved Helen, another aunt was diagnosed with ovarian cancer. My whole life I had looked at my aunts and saw myself, all blue eyes and big foreheads and curly hair. If their fate was cancer, it was bound to be mine too. And it wasn't just my aunts. Six other relatives from great aunts to distant cousins had been diagnosed with either

breast or ovarian cancer. It was high time for genetic testing, and we discovered that my aunt and

father carry the Broca 2 mutation. This mutation is associated with a 40 to 85% lifetime risk for

breast cancer and a 15 to 40% risk for ovarian cancer, along with increased risks for other cancers,

including prostate, pancreatic, and melan increased risks for other cancers, including prostate,

pancreatic, and melanomas. As a teenager, I wanted to be tested immediately. This was around when

the Affordable Care Act was being passed, and my doctors recommended that I wait until protections

for preexisting conditions were fully in effect before diagnosing myself with one. Finally, at 19,

I received confirmation of what I had felt for years.

Just like my aunts, I was positive for Rocca 2.

I heard constantly at the time that 19 was too young to test, years before any screenings would be recommended.

But I wanted those years to sit with my diagnosis and process it as slowly as I wanted to.

I'm so grateful for the protections that allowed me to do so.

My cancer screenings began at 24, and for six years, I've dutifully scheduled breast exam,

skin checks, and an annual date was a clunking, thumping MRI. I'm treated by an excellent hereditary

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