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I am a six-time hereditary cancer survivor
So for me hereditary cancer is huge
And it's completely shaped my life
And how I deal with things
And how my children see the world
I was diagnosed the first time
When I was only 29-years old
I had an 8-month old baby
A 7-year old and an 11-year old
And it was devestating
I was petrified because
I looked into their little faces
And didn't know if I was going to see them grow up
I did really well with my treatments
I lost all of my hair
I went through radiation therapy
And, you know, with a baby
It just keeps you going
So I was really blessed
To be diagnosed when my kids were little
Because it just kept me absolutely going
When I was diagnosed the second time I was 35
And I had just had my youngest daughter Taylor
So I went through the same treatment again
I lost my hair again
I went through radiation therapy
And I survived it, again!
So I was, you know, thinking
"Ok, I'm petrified, but I'm happy."
You know, I don't know what to do
And I don't know what can prevent it
From coming back
I asked the doctor and she told me
That I might just be one of those people
Who gets cancer
Every 5-7 years
And for me that was just
Almost too much to bear
When I was 42 I was
Producing a television show
Called "Your Cancer Today"
And I met a doctor
I invited her on
She was a young breast surgeon
And herself a survivor
And I shared with her during the
pre-interview that I was a 2-time
Breast cancer survivor
And the first thing she said was
"Have you been tested for BRCA?"
And I was like
"Well the brought it up
but I was told I wasn't a candidate for it
Because I didn't have any risk factors."
The only one -- she was --
She was astounded
She said "ok hang on a second,
By virtue of you having
Two cancers you're --
You definitely meet the criteria."
For me it was a total no-brainer
I knew that I had to have
This test done
She called me
And had me come in
And she was like
"I knew it,
I knew it you're positive
For this gene!"
That was something
That was a very positive moment
Because all of a sudden
I had so many
Answers to my questions
This wasn't something
That I had caused
Or created
Or had done to myself
This was a fact of life
It was like
The heavens opened up
And gave me some information
So I knew what
I had to do then
For me having
A prophylactic hysterectomy
Was absolutely something
That I was going to do
It didn't matter to me
I had already had
Cancer twice
So I went in for the
Prophylactic hysterectomy
I Had done all of the tests beforehand
And they didn't see any cancer
So we went ahead
With the preventative hysterectomy
Upon biopsy they found
A stage III fallopian tube cancer
That had already
Spread to my ovaries
And my abdominal washings
So it was already in an advanced state
But it was microscopic
So it was spreading
They likened it to having
A dandilion and blowing on it
And the seeds just going every place
At that point
I needed to start Chemotherapy
For a third time
I lost my hair AGAIN *laughs*
And went through this
Whole thing again
And again, I did really well
I've been really fortunate
With being able to
Deal with my Chemos
Really well
Unfortunately I've had a few recurrances
Um, like I said I'm
A six-time survivor right now
In April of 2013
I was diagnosed with
Metastatic fallopian tube cancer
Which spread to my brain
And I underwent what's called
A Gamma Knife surgery
And they basically lasered out
The four brain tumors
That they had found
Three of them are completely gone
And one is almost, you know,
Completely gone
My oldest daughter was really
Against being tested
She was petrified
She was absolutely sure
That she was going to have
Breast cancer just like me
And she really didn't
Make any plans for her life
She was 25-years old
When she finally consented
To being tested
And she came back negative
And it was like flipping
A light-switch on
In her life
The first thing out of her mouth
Is "Oh my gosh I can have babies!"
That's a huge, huge thing
For somebody who thinks they're
Gonna die at 29
To be able to all of a sudden
Say "I don't have this!"
"This isn't my future!"
"My mom's future is not my future."
Very powerful.