Meaghan B. Murphy Instagram – 1 in 8 women in the US will be diagnosed with breast cancer in her lifetime. Put a face to that statistic. Will it be your mom? Your daughter? Your niece? Sister? Cousin? Best friend? Neighbor? Will it be YOU? My mom had breast cancer twice. Nearly every woman on her side of the family has battled the disease. Because of this family history and my own dense breasts, I have always been vigilant with my screenings—mammograms, sonograms, follow-up breast MRIs. Ultimately, those screenings revealed a lump. By the grace of God, it turned out to be benign, but the scare prompted my breast surgeon to order an Invitae genetic testing (mine was done in office with a simple blood test!) to get a fuller picture of my risk. The results showed a change in the DNA of my CHEK2 gene that is known to increase the risk for breast cancer. As with the more well-known BRCA1 and BRCA2 gene changes, a CHEK2 changes means that you may be at higher risk of developing breast cancer specifically. Armed with this knowledge from my genetic test combined with other risk factors, my husband and I discussed management options with a genetic counselor and my physicians. The decision was simple. We had already suffered too much pain + loss at the hands of cancer. We would be as proactive as possible. On October 4, 2022, I underwent a preventative double mastectomy with reconstruction. YAY! I am a one-year “previvor,” a term used in the breast cancer community for someone who has taken preventative action. Genetic testing empowered me to make a decision before my body made that decision for me. Unlike my mom, I GOT to have surgery when I was otherwise healthy on my own terms. Talk to your doctor to see if genetic testing is right for you. You can also go to the link in my bio for more information. I am grateful to be a paid partner of @Invitae, helping to share this message. #sponsored #previvor #genetictesting #invitae #breastcancerawarenessmonth #ActionOverAwareness Breast Cancer Awareness