This is the reality that I was dealt,” she said. “It took me a few months to really understand, knowledge is power.
![pink and i your willing victim pink and i your willing victim](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/D1CpWYU3DvA/maxresdefault.jpg)
There were some chemo available but it was a very different world,” she said.Īfter confirmation of the gene mutation, Natalie immediately signed up for a breast cancer program at UT Southwestern to begin bi-annual checkups for those with hereditary cancer risk. And at that time, most cancers were treated just surgically and they moved on. Natalie’s grandmother had a breast cancer diagnosis when she was in her 40s. When she was 25 years old, a test revealed she, too, possessed the BRCA1 gene mutation.Īccording to the CDC, one in 40 Ashkenazi Jewish women has a BRCA gene mutation and are at higher risk for breast cancer before the age of 45. That’s the case for Natalie Taylor of Dallas.Īt 23, she learned her aunt had tested positive for the BRCA1 gene mutation so Natalie had a suspicion of her own risk. While many are often blindsided by cancer, there is a small percentage of women who already know of their increased chances for a life-changing diagnosis.Īccording to, about 5% to 10% of breast cancers are thought to be hereditary, meaning the cancer is linked to mutations in genes passed from parent to child. Komen also provides help with treatment, resources and screenings. She wants to remind others that even if they don’t have insurance, there are resources out there to help like the Bridge Breast Network. You don’t want it to spread or metastasize."
![pink and i your willing victim pink and i your willing victim](https://cdn.tinybuddha.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/Smiling-face.png)
If you feel a lump, you have the best chance for survival if you go ahead and get a checked out and it’s caught early. “If you wait, this disease will kill you. “I think in my community, there’s always the fear of, ‘I found a lump and I’m scared.' And I’ve heard that from people – I saw it sadly with my own mother-in-law,” she said.