Lucky

I took this photo just before leaving hospital after my double risk-reducing mastectomy and DIEP reconstruction.

It was such a relief to have the surgery safely done and be on my way home to my husband and children.

After my decision to have a risk-reducing mastectomy lots of incredibly kind friends and patients called me ‘brave’. I have to say I didn’t really feel brave. I was sore and tired from the surgery and worried about getting back to normal.

I have always felt that the women who experience breast cancer are much braver. They are often blindsided by a diagnosis and then often have to endure treatments like mastectomy and chemotherapy. As a GP I have seen at close hand their bravery and didn’t feel I fitted in the same bracket.

But I did always feel ‘lucky’. I know for lots of people that may seem a bit strange. It is certainly not that I would wish for anyone else to have this particular kind of ‘luck’. But I do wish that more people were given the choices I had.

I hope that I can make a small contribution to raising awareness and improving access to genetic testing. So that more women will have the choice to reduce their risk of breast cancer.

I was lucky to be born at a time when technology has advanced enough to discover several breast cancer risk genes. I was lucky that I went to medical school where I met my wonderful husband, my co-founder and a brilliant doctor. It was luck that brought all these things together and led to my being tested.

So I will keep sharing my story and experience and hopefully, it may encourage other people to think about testing. In my own small way as a doctor, I can encourage our patients to consider testing but I think there is more to do. This year I will also be looking at ways that I can work towards improving access to genetic testing for all, so watch this space.

A truly great woman, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, said “So often in life, things that you regard as an impediment turn out to be great, good fortune.”