Opinion: How I took steps in my 20s as a ‘previvor’ to avoid getting cancer

I ve never had cancer But it has still shaped my entire life I m a BRCA previvor You may never have heard that term before it was coined by an organization called FORCE over years ago I carry a gene mutation that increases my vulnerability for breast and ovarian cancer and other kinds and that s why even though I m in my late s I ve already undergone high-risk surveillance and a preventative mastectomy I ve also had to spend a lot of time thinking about how to preserve my fertility All this may sound like a lot for someone my age but I don t regret the path I ve taken at all Thankfully the journey of someone close to me helped show me the way My mom learned that she was BRCA positive when I was years old By taking preventative moves including a prophylactic mastectomy she was able to prevent getting cancer Her experience was a turning point for my whole family Related Articles Lice pose no physical condition threat yet a few parents push back on rules to allow affected kids in class Kennedy s panel recommends new restrictions on chicken pox measles mumps and rubella vaccines COVID- Bay Area physicians go full court press on vaccine access Strokes can cause debilitating damage Two UConn researchers have revealed a way to limit it California s addiction rehab reformers face headwinds as they await action on bills Knowledge is power By the time I was I knew I needed to get tested I was nervous but what you hear all the time that knowledge is power is true I needed to know And I wasn t surprised to learn that I did have the mutation in a way I d been expecting it my whole life Though I d witnessed everything my mom went through my experience was very different from hers When she discovered out she was BRCA positive she was well into adulthood She was married and already had children I on the other hand was just starting my life I was young single and not planning to have kids anytime soon But our goal was the same taking initiatives to avoid getting cancer My immediate reaction was that I required a mastectomy as soon as manageable But my breast surgeon counseled me to process the information before making a decision I might regret I am so grateful for her guidance because looking back I definitely wasn t ready And that s OK The choice is extremely personal There is no right or wrong answer I opted to focus on monitoring initially My practitioner recommended a mammogram and it was great there were no problems and I was stated see you in a year But the next year just a sparse days before my th birthday they ascertained a lump Though an MRI and biopsy manifested it was benign given my family history the doctors desired me to have a preventative mastectomy But I had just started grad school and didn t have eight weeks to recover from surgery So I upped the monitoring alternating mammograms and MRIs every six months Not only was this nerve-wracking it also resulted in multiple painful biopsies I hustled so that I could graduate early and get my mastectomy as soon as I could I was ready to put this all behind me and start my life On Nov I decisively had my surgery I opted to have what s known as expanders temporary implants used in breast reconstruction after mastectomy to stretch the skin and tissue This was followed by an exchange a minimal months later which the expanders were removed and I received my implants Since then I ve had a scant revisions to fix things like keloid scarring and the position of my implants Now I am working with my wellbeing care unit to monitor for ovarian cancer which is of discipline another aspect of the BRCA mutation I go in every six months for a vaginal ultrasound and blood work Like a lot of women my age I m not ready yet to have kids But previvors have to think about fertility differently I don t want to get a full hysterectomy but I am considering getting my fallopian tubes removed I ve already met with the fertility club and I m planning to freeze my eggs I want to do everything I can to ensure I don t pass my BRCA mutation on to my future children When all this began I never would have imagined documenting my experience on social media But I felt really lonely going through this process I didn t fit in with the cancer district Because I had never truly been sick those in the population didn t view me as having a similar situation to theirs At the same time I didn t see anyone my age opting for the kind of prevention measures I was taking I was experiencing my own kind of trauma and loss but felt like no one was validating it So I decided to serve as an example and hopefully validate others who might be experiencing the same thing After all in individuals have a BRCA mutation Plenty of of them are young women just like me Invisible menace Since I started posting on TikTok I have been shocked by the response People message me saying they feel seen Young women tell me they didn t even know genetic testing was an option There are so a large number of of us walking around with invisible liability and no one is really talking about it I shared my experience right now post-surgery scars and all so that others don t feel isolated I want people to know there is a neighborhood for us we just have to find each other That s why I am excited to participate in things such as National Previvor Day on Oct which takes place in the middle of National Hereditary Cancer Week Sept through Oct It s a chance to raise awareness about the risks we face not just physical but emotional and social It s about creating space for stories like mine and about making sure everyone understands their individual liability and the options available to them Being a previvor isn t just something I am It s something I live every day every appointment every decision I want other young people to know that if you re navigating hereditary cancer danger you don t have to do it alone Maggie Wickman is a -year-old TikTok creator and behavioral wellness professional residing in Chicago Chicago 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