{"id":16493,"date":"2024-12-18T14:50:11","date_gmt":"2024-12-18T14:50:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ourdorset.org.uk\/women\/?p=16493"},"modified":"2024-12-23T14:37:55","modified_gmt":"2024-12-23T14:37:55","slug":"nicki","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ourdorset.org.uk\/women\/nicki\/","title":{"rendered":"Nicki’s story"},"content":{"rendered":"

My Mum was lucky to survive both breast and ovarian cancer and tested positive for the BRCA1 gene mutation, which meant a 50% chance of me having it. I found out that I\u2019d tested positive for the BRCA1 gene mutation when I was 38 \u2013 this meant a 60 \u2013 90% lifetime risk of getting breast cancer and 40 \u2013 60% risk of getting ovarian cancer. I could have opted for annual MRI scans and mammograms, however as there is currently no screening available for ovarian cancer, and after seeing what my Mum had gone through, as well as being fortunate enough to have already had children, the decision was a no brainer for me \u2013 I opted to undergo both risk reducing surgeries \u2013 a double mastectomy and a bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy (removal of ovaries and fallopian tubes)\u2026 hello menopause! Although the surgeries do not completely eradicate the risk, they do significantly reduce it.<\/p>\n

One of the biggest challenges for me was navigating the hospital pathway and the waiting times \u2013 due to a combination of my GP initially forgetting to pass on my referral, a total of five different hospitals being involved and a number of doctor strikes, it took from May 2022 (initial GP appointment) to March 2024 (for the last surgery) \u2013 and that was with me chasing and following things up along the way!<\/p>\n

I found the waiting time and surgeries being postponed harder than undergoing the surgeries themselves. That, coupled with the incredible sadness and guilt of knowing I may have passed the gene mutation onto my two beautiful daughters made it an absolute rollercoaster of a journey and there were many times I wished for an off switch for my overactive mind!<\/p>\n

My next challenge is to get my HRT combinations at the right level for me. We are very fortunate to have a fantastic menopause clinic locally, however it is the only one in Dorset and they are very in demand and overstretched, so I\u2019m doing what I can to try and help myself whilst I await my assessment appointment.<\/p>\n

There will also come a time when we will need to support our daughters \u2013 testing is not available until they reach 18. Medical advancements are continuously evolving, including PGD (pre-implantation genetic diagnosis), a type of IVF that checks embryos for genetic defects, and who knows what else will be available by then. I know that whatever the outcome, I have first-hand experience to help them in making the decision to get tested and what that might bring for them.<\/p>\n

Undertaking my own research and finding others with the mutation has been a great help and comfort to me \u2013 I found a fantastic charity via Instagram called BRCA Chat, which organises very insightful and uplifting webinars by people who have been through it themselves, as well as face-to-face meetups across the country. The Davina McCall and Dr Naomi Potter \u2018Menopausing\u2019 book, along with the British Menopause Society website have also really helped me understand surgical menopause, offering a whole host of useful resources.<\/p>\n

Overall, the biggest thing to help me through my journey was surrounding myself with loving, positive and upbeat people, as well as all things exercise related, long walks with my Springer and holistic therapies.<\/p>\n

When catching a glimpse in the mirror, I might not always like how my foobs (reconstructed boobs!) look in comparison with my old ones, but I remind myself of why I made that choice and how extremely fortunate I was to have been given the option of having the risk-reducing surgeries when so many don\u2019t find out until it\u2019s too late.<\/p>\n

Armed with the right information and support, getting into a good place both mentally and physically (as this hugely helped during recovery from both surgeries), and opening up to family and friends can really help you overcome anything that life throws at us, it\u2019s certainly made me appreciate how lucky I am.<\/p>\n

My patient pathway involved genetic testing and genetic counselling being overseen by University of Southampton Hospital, a psychological assessment by Salisbury Hospital, and surgeries carried out at Royal Bournemouth Hospital and Victoria Hospital, as well as many different appointments at both Poole and Bournemouth hospitals in preparation for both surgeries. It\u2019s a complex pathway, but I think it\u2019s important for people to appreciate just how many healthcare professionals are involved in the process and how very lucky we are to have the NHS.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":16714,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[89],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-16493","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-cancer"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ourdorset.org.uk\/women\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16493","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ourdorset.org.uk\/women\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ourdorset.org.uk\/women\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ourdorset.org.uk\/women\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ourdorset.org.uk\/women\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=16493"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/ourdorset.org.uk\/women\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16493\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":16736,"href":"https:\/\/ourdorset.org.uk\/women\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16493\/revisions\/16736"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ourdorset.org.uk\/women\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/16714"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ourdorset.org.uk\/women\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=16493"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ourdorset.org.uk\/women\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=16493"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ourdorset.org.uk\/women\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=16493"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}