Molly’s Mammogram

Shortly after my breast cancer diagnosis, my sister Molly got her first mammogram. We learned last week that Molly also has breast cancer. We are all reeling from the news, but I know Molly—she is a strong woman with a great family and friends behind her. She was so brave to get that mammogram and because she did, she caught it early. I have no doubt that Molly will get through this and be fine.

As surreal is it seems, having two sisters with breast cancer is not as unusual as you might think. Families can have a genetic mutation that causes breast cancer. Our family has no known cases of breast cancer, but that does not mean it is not genetic—Molly and I may be the first to have it. Also, since my dad is adopted, we really don’t know anything about 50% of our family’s medical history. I tested negative for the BRCA1 and BRCA2 genetic mutation, but there are other genetic mutations that cause breast cancer. We just don’t know enough about this part of breast cancer to definitively say where this all started—and where it started is honestly not important to me.

What is important to me is knowing that breast cancer risk is higher among women whose close blood relatives have this disease. Having a mother, sister, or daughter with breast cancer approximately doubles a woman's risk. Overall, the risk of breast cancer in women with sisters with breast cancer was double that of other women for at least 20 years after the sister's diagnosis—and depending on the age of diagnosis the risk can be six times as high.

This is important to me in that I have two daughters who I now know have a higher risk of breast cancer in their lifetime. I will certainly be talking with them about the importance of screening for breast cancer starting at an earlier age than I would have before my and Molly’s diagnosis.

Please send Molly, her husband Ryan, and her sons Tyler and Brady all of your positive thoughts. We are all behind you!!