Cancer Won't Stop This Trip

For years my mother has dreamed of seeing the Grand Canyon, but as you probably know, we don’t always make time for the things of our dreams. I intend to change that for my mom.

Last Valentine's Day my mom and I learned that she had stage 3c ovarian cancer. Every moment since then has been dedicated to ridding her body of this horrific and relentless disease. 6 months after her diagnosis we also received another devastating blow when we both tested positive for the BRCA1 breast and ovarian cancer mutation. The BRCA1 mutation comes with an 87% chance of breast cancer and 50-65% chance of ovarian cancer. Since my mother had already been diagnosed with ovarian cancer this provided her medical team with some information about treating her specific cancer. For me, it was like looking into a crystal ball and learning that cancer was lurking in my genes waiting to strike me as it had my mother. Most people know how deadly ovarian cancer can be, but the stereotypical breast cancer patient is middle aged and has a less deadly cancer. The breast cancer associated with BRCA1 however, tends be more deadly, triple hormone negative, and likes young dense breasts.

So in September at the age of 31, I underwent a prophylactic (preventative) double mastectomy. I had done my research and for me personally, I wanted to reduce my risk rather than have intensive screening in the form of bi-annual mammograms and breast MRIs. As frightening and heartbreaking as it was to forfeit that part of my body, I did not want to live in fear of day my breast turned deadly and the tests came back with “it’s cancer”. My operation was long, painful, and I'm not done. After 3 months of painful expanding (after a mastectomy your new breast have to go behind your stretched pectoral muscles) I am now letting my body rest before my next surgery to move from expanders to implants. In the meantime, I have also begun fertility preservation (egg freezing) so that my OB oncologist can remove my tubes and ovaries later this year. Because I don't have, but someday want children, freezing my eggs now will allow me to still have and carry my biological children after my ovaries are gone. I'm happy to say my risk for breast cancer has gone from 87% to 1%!! And that my risk of ovarian cancer will be significantly reduced after they remove my ovaries.

In December, after 6 surgeries, 9 months of weekly chemo, 3 months of life in rehabilitation nursing homes, and so many moments where all hope was almost lost my mother's oncologist said she had made it to remission! Nothing short of a miracle. But cancer doesn't fight fair and remission won't, statistically speaking, last too long. On average for BRCA1 ovarian cancer will return in 2 years. Naturally, I don't plan for this to be true for my mother. I expect her to live for 20-30 more years. I expect she'll be here to see me meet the man of my dreams, get married, and to spoil my children. But I don’t trust cancer and her oncologist told us "now is the time to travel and enjoy each other" so I'd like to surprise my mom with a trip to the Grand Canyon this spring. She loves nature and has always wanted to see it. Plus, I want us to look back on these years and remember something beautiful at a time when our lives seemed riddled with cancer.

My window for taking this trip with her is small, in large part because I have another surgery in late March/early April and that will be followed by a lengthy recovery, another round of IVF, and then another surgery. Please consider donating to this fund so my mom and I can have a break from all the sadness and loss of the past year and simply enjoy life.