I’m your average 30-year-old woman who loves to be active, stay fit, have fun, and live life to the fullest. My husband and I have two dogs (husky and German Shepherd) and always doing something.

Breast and ovarian cancer run in my family, as well as the BRCA1 gene mutation. My Grandma and Aunt were diagnosed with it years ago. It claimed my grandma’s life when I was a child. My aunt bravely fought and is a survivor! My sister was diagnosed with breast cancer on March 10, 2014 at only 29 years old. She went through aggressive treatment and is now cancer-free. Since her diagnosis and BRCA1+ test results, I’ve undergone the genetic testing and am BRCA1 positive also.

I got the ball rolling and met with doctors to create a plan and strategy for moving forward with options and what best suited me. I underwent my first mammogram, to which I decided afterwards I would never do that again. Shortly after, I met with breast surgeons and plastic surgeons. The doctors, team and plan was all set in place. I had my preventative double mastectomy September 2014 at the ripe age of 27. As a result of me having my double mastectomy, Sarah came up and had her surgery two and half weeks after mine with my same doctors and surgeons. It was a miracle everything worked out. There were no hiccups and everything fell into place literally over night. I was in the hospital room recovering, while the breast surgeon was planning things with my mom.

I’ve since been doing routine surveillance with my ovaries. I have the CA-125 blood test done twice a year and the vaginal ultrasound once a year. My oncologist and care team are amazing and passionate about this gene mutation. Honestly, it’s such a relief.

I started this blog to give me an outlet to talk about breast cancer, being BRCA1, surgeries, fitness and everything else under the sun. Ever since my sister’s diagnosis, I’ve been writing and find it therapeutic.  In this blog, you’ll find posts of randomness and things I’ve written leading up to my surgery. This is my journey. My goal in life is to have compassion, making a difference. If I can make a difference in one person’s life, my goal has been accomplished. If just one person goes and gets a mammogram done as a result of reading my journey, everything in this roller coaster is worth it.

Please don’t hesitate to reach out and ask questions.

Happy Reading!!

XOXO, Hannah