Marissa Levesque

By Previve on October 7, 2010 | Category: Previvor Stories | No Comments

Hello!  I would love to be able to share my story.  I am 24 years old and the mom of a 6 year old little girl.  I found out that I was BRCA1+ when I was 23.  September 15, 2009, I had a preventative mastectomy.

My surgeon had been very blunt with me.  Neither her, or the genetic specialists, had seen many other women with such an extensive family history as I had.  Both BRCA1 and BRCA 2 mutations are in my family.  My cousin was diagnosed at only 25 years old, and passed away at 30, leaving 2 young children behind.  That was all I could picture when my surgeon told me that based on the genetic results and my family history, it was more like when and where, and we would catch it early and I would have a great survival rate.  I wanted NO part of that!  I have seen entirely too many times what cancer and the treatments are capable of.  My own mother was diagnosed at 31, and again at 38 on the opposite side.  She is very strong and survived, but with life long damage, physically and emotionally.  There was no way I was going to live with the chance of leaving my little girl without a mom, most importantly.

So many people have approached me and said, “that must have been such a hard decision you made”!  It was actually the easiest decision of my life….it barely took thought!  I had to save my life, 86-100% risk according to my surgeon, down to 2-5% with keeping my nipples…the numbers speak for themselves.  I also knew that my daughter would have to be tested at some point, and she would have a 50/50 chance.  I had to set an example, and show her how to be PROACTIVE and NOT REACTIVE when it comes to cancer.  It is now a year after that first surgery, I have endured a few setbacks and extra reconstruction surgeries, but I can now say I am basically done other than a few touch ups, and I have never made a better decision in my life.  I am very proud of what I did.

I had a great support system that got me through.  My family stood by me every step of the way and so did my boyfriend.  We were in a new relationship for the most part when I told him that I was BRCA1+.  Then I let it all out and told him what I had planned to do.  He looked at me and said, “ok, lets do it”.  I was in shock because I had expected a different response.  He went on to explain that if I had known that I was almost guaranteed to get cancer some day, and knew there was a way to prevent it, and did not do it, then he would have had an issue.  He took care of me every step of the way.  Pretty sure he got used to sleeping in a chair after all of those nights in the hospital.  This entire ordeal has made us so much closer and I am very thankful for that.  I too got something extra out of this experience.

I am currently in the process of launching Pink-Surance, a nonprofit, with plans to fund genetic testing, post surgical items such as camisoles and prosthetics, and to advocate for the fertility treatments that can prevent the passing of this gene mutation to babies, and break the chain in families with a history of breast/ovarian cancer.  We can actually DELETE THIS GENE for our future children, and very few people know about it.  I hope for a world, where, when my little girl gets them, she can keep them.  But, if she can’t, her mommy set a good example, and she will not fear taking charge of her life.  Every woman deserves the option to save her life, with or without health insurance.  That is my goal.