Tag Archives: BRCA

Rachel’s interview with BRCA+ Playboy-girlfriend Trisha Frick, part one

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Last month, I had the pleasure of visiting Trisha Frick at the Playboy Mansion. Trisha is one of Hugh Hefner’s girlfriends and has lived at the Playboy Mansion for almost a year. She gets to go to awesome parties and dress up all the time; she has access to a gorgeous swimming pool and what seems like an entire zoo at the Mansion; and she has developed quite the fan-following on Twitter and the Internet in general (I KNOW some of you have found my blog by typing “Trisha Frick” into Google!)

But beyond all that, Trisha is something more: she is a young, BRCA+ woman with a strong family history of breast cancer. While her daily life seems glamorous and fun, she struggles with the same troubling concerns that many other high-risk women face. Breast cancer has affected her life in ways to which many of us can relate. And like many of us high-risk women, she is taking the initiative to undergo a prophylactic mastectomy.

During my visit at the Playboy Mansion, Trisha was gracious enough to let me interview her for Ticking Time Bombs. I apologize for the lack of organization in the interview; I didn’t come prepared with questions, and so we ended up having more of a conversation than a real interview! It’s over 2,000 words, so I’ve divided it into two parts.

This interview isn’t meant to be about Trisha as she relates to Playboy; it’s meant to be another BRCA+ woman’s story. It’s another opinion, another perspective, another experience. We can all learn about our own health struggles by hearing from other people. So, without further ado, I give you part one of my interview with Ms. Trisha Frick!

Trisha and me before dinner at the Playboy Mansion the evening of the interview.

Rachel: Tell me about your family history of cancer, more specifically breast cancer.
Trisha: My great-grandma, grandma, and aunt died of breast cancer; and my other aunt had breast cancer. One first got breast cancer when she was 34. My aunt who died of breast cancer had the BRCA gene mutation but she didn’t want to get tested until she died, because she didn’t want to find out. So we all found out after she died, which was sad.

Rachel: So even though she had breast cancer, she still didn’t want to get tested?
Trisha: She didn’t want to get tested…and I find that out a lot, through talking to other people. Even though they have breast cancer, they don’t want to find out for their family. And it’s really weird to me; you’d think you’d want to find out for your family. That way they can get help and prevent themselves from being in the same position.

Rachel: That’s interesting. I know when I find out I was positive for the gene mutation, my mom texted me saying how sorry she was…and I was like, “chill…you didn’t have the choice.”
Trisha: My mom was the same way. She feels very guilty for me having it, even though it came through my father’s side. A lot of people don’t understand that it can come from either the mother’s side or the father’s side.  And so even she feels guilty for me having it, and I’m like, it’s not your fault, forgive yourself. And I think a lot of people don’t want to get tested because they don’t want to feel like they gave it to someone else.

Rachel: I know you had said to me before that you don’t want to pass this gene on, so are you really against having children?
Trisha: Until they figure out whether they can isolate the gene, I’d rather adopt a kid than have my own child. I’m not against children at all, I just don’t want to pass this gene on to a kid because I know all the worry that I’ve had to go through and my family’s had to go through. If I stop it, it stops in my family.

Rachel: How old were you when you found out about the gene?
Trisha: I found out I had the gene when I was 21. I wasn’t surprised because I knew my family history, so I figured that I had to have it. I found out I had it and it wasn’t a big deal to me. I lived in San Antonio, Texas where medical places and people weren’t as big on BRCA genes as they are out here in California. And so I was like, the first patient, the only one…the guinea pig for all of these places. So coming out to California to UCLA Medical it was like, finally, they know stuff! I’m not the only one! It was a big relief.

Rachel: Did you start doing surveillance?
Trisha: Yes. I did surveillance back in San Antonio where I had the yearly mammograms. I’ve had mammograms since I was 21, but I’m so young and I have dense boobs so mammograms don’t show so much. When I finally went to UCLA, they said that I should do an MRI instead. They only do MRIs on me once a year and forget the mammograms since my boobs are so dense they can’t see anything anyway. But going through the process of an MRI is scary, and it’s not a cheap thing. That’s my main decision to get a prophylactic mastectomy. Why go through all this surveillance and spend all this money when you can have new, perky boobs at the price of an MRI? And then the worry is gone.

Rachel: That’s how I saw it too. I either do surveillance and then I do the surgery anyway [because of cancer] and then I have to do even more and pay for even more, or I do the surgery now and not worry about any of that stuff.
Trisha: Exactly it’s like, why wait to get cancer? When you do it prophylactically, it’s on your time frame at your pace…everything is convenient for you. Versus when you get cancer, it’s like, “Oh we gotta do this and this and this now no matter what’s happening in your life.” I saw that with my aunt, and it’s overwhelming, even more than it would be if you do it prophylactically.

Rachel: When did you start seriously considering doing the prophylactic mastectomy?
Trisha: When I was at a place in life where I was comfortable with it. I didn’t want to do it before I was comfortable and before I had the right time schedule. I didn’t have cancer yet so I could postpone it but I knew I’d probably get it at sometime in my life so I might as well get it done sooner than later. It was on my time frame, not cancer’s time frame.

Rachel: How do you feel about your body image, knowing you have the gene mutation? It really messed up my body image for a while, that’s why I ask.
Trisha: I’m happy to have the surgery, per se, because then I get perky boobs again! I have double Ds now and they started to sag a long time ago, so I want them back up to where they’re supposed to be, as high as they’re supposed to be! As the years go on, they sag and sag…so in the way, it’s a good thing!

Rachel: Right. It’s like you get insurance to pay for a boob job! That’s what I tell people sometimes.
Trisha: I’ve met some women who are scared about losing sensation in their breasts…and it surprises me, because really, that’s the biggest worry, losing sensation? Are you kidding me, you might get cancer! Who cares if you lose sensation in your boobs? Mine grew too big too quickly so I don’t have that anyways. It’s not a big aspect of worry for me.

Rachel: And the way I see it given the statistics is that either way, you’re probably going to have the surgery. So you either put it off and wait to have the surgery, or you do it now.
Trisha: Exactly, and if you wait, then you’ll have to go through chemo and radiation and you’ll lose your hair. When I had my MRI done, I had an abnormal lump that turned out to be a lymph node. But during that time between finding out it was a lymph node and not a lump—the anxiety was horrible. That was the big push for me to get proactive: “oh shoot, I may have a lump.” And even though it was just a lymph node, I realized that I don’t want to feel that ever again in my life.

Rachel: I can’t even imagine how that felt because I’ve never had that feeling, but I’m so scared of it.
Trisha: Right. And once you have the prophylactic mastectomy, your risk goes down so much, back to the normal population’s. You don’t have to worry about that feeling.

Rachel: It’s not at zero, but it’s so much lower than it was before, and it’s lower than the average woman’s risk, too. Have you thought about what kind of mastectomy you want to do, nipple-sparing, skin-sparing…?
Trisha: I want to try nipple-sparing if I can. When you get cancer, you might not have the option to do it. You do what they tell you, versus, doing it prophylactically and having the choice. (Note: Trisha emailed me a few weeks after our conversation to say that she is now thinking of a skin-sparing mastectomy instead: “I have now seen a plastic surgeon who says with my family history and the size of my boobs it would be hard to save the nipple. It would be more aesthetically pleasing if he took them off. He does a really good job of rebuilding them at the end, it’s a third surgery but so worth it because when they save the nipple there is still a small risk of cancer because they have to save some of the breast tissue there.”)

Rachel: It’s interesting to hear different women talk about it. People will get emotional and defensive about their choice. But I understand the different arguments. Some women really care about getting their risk reduced as much as possible, while other women (like me) still want a little bit of themselves left. Dr. Karam [my breast surgeon] gave me the option of doing the mastectomy cut at the inframammary fold or across the nipple. And yes, I really wanted to do it at the inframammary fold because it’s prettier, but he basically told me that because I was about a D-cup, I had a lot of breast tissue so there was a risk that during the mastectomy he wouldn’t be able to remove all of the tissue. I decided to do the nipple-sparing because of the aesthetics, but I needed to suck it up and give Dr. Karam as much room to work as possible, so why wouldn’t I do the across-the-nipple scar? Yes, I’d have a scar, but I can deal with a scar. Scars fade.
Trisha: Exactly. People ask me, “Aren’t you worried about your future boyfriend not liking it?” If he doesn’t understand, I don’t want to be with him! If he can’t understand that part of my life—and that’s a huge part of my life—he wouldn’t be worth it to me.

Rachel: My boyfriend has been great. I can’t imagine how he feels about all of this. He has been amazing, and I think part of it also is that he’s had cancer in his family. He knows he’s at risk. And there are so many people like that who have a family history so they’re more aware. I really don’t think someone in the future who you start dating will be like “ohmygod you have a scar there!”
Trisha: And especially nowadays, breast implants in general are so common. And they’re typically done the same way. You have a scar no matter what you have: prophylactic mastectomy, mastectomy, or just breast implants.

Well, there you have it–part one of our interview! Check back in a few days for part two!

Trisha and Hef at the Playboy Mansion, celebrating July 4–looking good, guys!

 

Rachel’s visit to the Playboy Mansion

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Before I start telling my story, can we all take a moment to appreciate the irony of the fact that I managed to make it all the way to the Playboy Mansion with only one boob? Some girls spend thousands on plastic surgery to get there—but me, I don’t even need to have a complete rack!

Okay…who am I kidding? When this is all said and done, I’ll have spent thousands on plastic surgery, too.

Onto the story:

As I mentioned in my teaser post, I received an email a few weeks ago from a young woman named Trisha who had gotten my contact info from my genetic counselor at UCLA. Trisha is 27, BRCA2+, a volunteer at the Revlon UCLA Breast Center, and a girlfriend of Hugh Hefner’s.

Um…wow! In her first email, when she mentioned she lived in the Playboy Mansion, I thought it was a joke. I really thought that someone was screwing with me. So I looked her up…and found the Twitter account of a girl named Trisha Frick who lives at the Playboy Mansion. I then emailed my genetic counselor, who confirmed that she had given my contact info to her.

“SHE’S REAL!” I squealed to myself when I saw the confirmation email. I was pretty excited.

But then I had to stop myself and take a step back. Yes, it was awesome that someone who lived in the freaking PLAYBOY MANSION wanted to talk to me. But she didn’t want to talk to me about that—she wanted to talk to me about my experience with a prophylactic mastectomy. Even though she was totally beautiful and lived in a kick ass house and went to awesome parties, she was also very much like me: a girl with a BRCA mutation who was trying to make sense of her high risk of breast cancer and figure out the right plan for her!

I emailed her back, trying not to sound too giddy or star-struck, and we soon started exchanging emails about our experiences with breast cancer and the BRCA mutation. After a few messages, we decided to meet up. And much to my delight, Trisha invited me to visit her at the Playboy Mansion for Sunday Funday!

Dear readers, please take this gem of wisdom to heart: if you ever find yourself in the fortuitous position of going to the Playboy Mansion, check your GPS twice. Please.

I left my boyfriend’s house in Glendora at 12:45 pm with the goal of being at the Playboy Mansion by 1:30 pm. Using the street address Trisha had emailed me, I plotted a route on my iPhone’s GPS and took off.

35 minutes later, I exited the freeway in an extremely seedy looking part of Eagle Rock. It really didn’t seem like the kind of place the Playboy Mansion would be located. For those of you who are familiar with the USC area, it looked like Vermont Avenue, with little taco stands and barbershops and cop cars everywhere.

After driving past the red destination marker on the iPhone map and still not seeing a luxurious mansion, I called Trisha. Trisha had never even heard of Eagle Rock.

…I was temporarily lost.

Trisha did mention that the Playboy Mansion is around UCLA. Hahaha, yep, I know where that is! Just for kicks, I manually entered the Mansion’s street address into my phone instead of clicking on the address through an email. And sure enough, a location in Holmby Hills near UCLA showed up.

I’m not sure why my iPhone’s navigation was being so rude, but it didn’t deter me from reaching my goal. I managed to arrive at the Mansion around 2:15 pm.

My first reaction upon seeing the Mansion as I drove up the steep driveway? “HOLY SHIT.”

The front of the Playboy Mansion

Most of you know that I am obsessed with castles. The Playboy Mansion looks like a European castle. It was love at first sight.

I parked behind a group of other cars and a valet took my keys. I stared around at my surroundings for a moment, dumbstruck and trying to take it all in, and then Trisha came to retrieve me.

It was really nice to meet Trisha in person. She is so sweet and so pretty, and I felt quite comfortable around her. She immediately took me out to the pool to meet some of her friends and Hugh Hefner.

Yep, I met Hef. And he was very kind and welcoming…he even posed for a photo with us! You gotta love his swag.

Who else could pull off that captain hat?

Trisha brought me over to a lady who handled logistics to sign in and order food. There was a set lunch menu with quite a few yummy-sounding options. I ordered the grilled cheese and a salad.

We then embarked on the grand tour. If you ever get the opportunity to take the grand tour of the Playboy Mansion, I highly suggest it.

First there’s the zoo! There are koi fish, peacocks, parrots, bunnies, and three species of monkeys…three! It’s insane. Just insane. That’s all I can really say.

Then there’s the game house. The game room itself has a pool table and tons of pinball machines and arcade games. Then there are a few small rooms and bathrooms off to the side, including a room with a very VERY squishy floor. (I wonder what they use that for? 😉 )

The inside of the game house

From there we saw another small house that was more like a green house than anything. I guess the proper term would be “aviary” because there were birds galore in there. My favorite was the toucan.

As we walked along the grounds, I also saw the tennis courts and a few different statues and busts that looked Grecian. The flowers in the garden were beautiful. Whoever takes care of the grounds does a wonderful job.

Near the pool is a building with bathrooms, a gym, lockers, and a sauna. Outside of that building, directly next to the pool, is the bar. The bartender whipped me up some kind of fruity rum drink—delicious!

For a while we relaxed by the pool as I snacked. The grilled cheese was petite and well-made—it really hit the spot! It was a good time for me to talk to Trisha and meet some of her friends. All of the girls I met were very kind and interesting. When Trisha and I explained how we knew each other, they were genuinely curious to know more about the BRCA genes and the mastectomy. I even passed out a few blog business cards!

After I was done eating we got ready to swim. We ordered a few beers (Heineken for me) and headed into the grotto. It was awesome. Seriously, if I’m ever rich and decide to build a pool at my house, there will definitely be a grotto!

Half of the grotto is a hot tub, and the other half is normal temperature. There are two large cushioned areas outside of the water, and there’s a speaker system. In between some of the rocks on the ceiling are stained glass decorations.

Me and Trisha, inside the grotto…so legit!

The water was very pleasant. I really like the idea of a grotto; you can enjoy the water without being exposed to the sun. Now that I’m trying to prevent cancer in all forms, I worry about that stuff!

After spending half an hour in the grotto, we got out and changed back into our clothes. Then Trisha and I took her dog Denny for a walk around the neighborhood and down to the park. Denny is soooooo cute. He’s a Husky/Shar-Pei mix. During our walk, Trisha let me interview her for the blog. We talked for over 25 minutes, all about the BRCA mutation and her mastectomy plans. I’m really excited to transcribe the interview from my phone for you to read!

Trisha and me before dinner inside the Mansion

Dinner was around 5 pm. It was buffet-style. I was quite pleased with the selection of vegetarian-friendly items, especially the entire platter of sliced tomatoes! The food was delicious. The dining room seemed to me to be crowded; there were quite a few girls there (some who lived in the Mansion, others who were visited like me) and some older individuals who were friends of Hef’s. Bandleader Ray Anthony was there, and apparently he is 90 years old but he didn’t look a day over 75! (I think that’s a compliment, right?)

Another one of Hef’s friends was passing around a riddle for people to solve. I don’t know how I did it, but after looking at just the first two lines I was able to solve it. He seemed quite amazed that I guessed it and asked me what my IQ was! Ha. He even told Hef’s brother that I was the only one who answered it correctly! I guess all of that Jeopardy pays off?

Hef came into the dining room around 6:15 pm and took a few pictures with Trisha and the other girls. Then he announced that it was time for the movie. The last part of the Sunday Funday festivities each Sunday is a movie; on this particular occasion, they were screening the new Snow White and the Huntsman with Charlize Theron and Kristen Stewart.

I decided not to stay for the movie, so Trisha walked me back out to the valet to get my car. We exchanged hugs and goodbyes and she promised to keep me posted about her decision regarding a prophylactic mastectomy.

All in all, it was a fabulous day. I am so grateful that Trisha invited me, and I’m also really happy to have met her. I admire her confidence and respect her decision to pursue a prophylactic mastectomy, and I’m excited to post my interview with her because I hope that other BRCA+ and high-risk women will gain some insight from what she has to say.

Check back in a few days to read the interview!

You have to admit that I look pretty good at the Playboy Mansion, right?

What would you do if you knew you were going to get cancer?

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What would you do if you knew you were going to get cancer? You don’t have it, yet—but it’s coming for you! Could be in twenty years; could be in ten. Could be in fifty years; could be in six months.

That was my situation. After my mom was diagnosed with breast cancer for the second time in September of 2011, she was tested for genetic mutations of the BRCA genes, a class of tumor suppressors that work with reproductive tissue. She tested positive for the BRCA2 gene, which is linked to an increased risk of breast cancer. As all good students who were awake for at least one Biology lecture should know, genes are passed down through parent to child. There was a 50% chance I had inherited the same BRCA2 gene mutation.

Even before I made the decision to be tested for the mutation, I knew there was a higher likelihood that I would be diagnosed with breast cancer at some time in my life. My mother was diagnosed for the first time at a relatively young age, which made me more susceptible. Since my outlook was already somewhat pessimistic, being tested for the BRCA2 mutation wouldn’t change much.

I waited almost two weeks for the results of the blood test and finally heard back on October 25th, 2011. Yes, the results were positive: I had inherited the same mutation as my mom. I was not surprised by the news but that doesn’t mean I was not upset, either. The numbers are pretty daunting:

  • The BRCA2 mutation means I have a 56-87% chance of developing breast cancer by age 70
  • It also means I have a 27-44% chance of developing ovarian cancer by age 70
  • I have a slightly increased chance of developing other cancers, such as pancreatic and stomach
  • I have a 50% chance of passing this genetic mutation onto my children

So pretty much, I realized I was going to get breast cancer…that’s how the numbers played out, and my mom’s history of breast cancer confirmed those numbers. Yep, I was pissed. For a few days there I felt like nothing in life was “important” anymore, that school and work didn’t matter because I had much bigger issues to deal with and I couldn’t possibly be bothered by the mundane, menial tasks of everyday life!

Right, clearly that’s a stupid attitude. After moping around a bit I realized I needed to get over myself and stop acting like a little drama queen. I needed to take action!

My options were as follows:

1. Do nothing now. Start routine mammograms around age 40. Hope that there aren’t any cancerous cells lurking in my body.

2. Begin yearly MRIs and mammograms at age 25, which would (most likely) catch any cancer early, making it easier to treat.

3. Opt for a prophylactic mastectomy to remove all of my breast tissue, dramatically reducing my chance of getting breast cancer

Well, you guys all know what I picked! A prophylactic mastectomy. It seems so drastic, I know, but it’s the only active route. Why would I wait for cancer to strike me when I could kick its ass right now? Although the yearly MRI and mammogram option is a smart one, I believe that it’s too passive because I would just be waiting for a cancerous lump to appear. When that lump did appear, I would end having a double mastectomy anyway, in addition to chemotherapy and radiation.

By opting for the prophylactic mastectomy, I’ve essentially lowered my risk of breast cancer to almost 0%. And there are more bonuses: I won’t have to go through chemo or radiation; I won’t have to put my career on hold; I won’t have to explain to my kids why I’m bald; I can pick the best time and place for me to have surgery; I’m still covered by my parents’ insurance; and most importantly, my mommy will be there to take care of me after!

My surgery was on March 13th, at Ronald Reagan Hospital at the UCLA Medical Center. I know, I know, I’m a USC traitor—but these doctors are incredible. I am so confident in them. Plus, my plastic surgeon was also my mom’s plastic surgeon when she had her mastectomy back in November, and he did a great job with her reconstruction.

Oh yeah, that’s something I forgot to mention: reconstruction! I’m not going to be flat-chested, woohoo! I’m going to be getting silicone implants. But first, in order to prep my body for the implants and to make sure they are spaced correctly, I have tissue expanders. Tissue expanders are pockets of saline that are placed underneath the chest muscle. Over time they are gradually filled up with more saline. Once they are at my “ideal” breast size, the tissue expanders will be switched out for the silicone implants.

I’m using this blog as a way to shed light on this issue. It’s a pretty niche topic; not many resources exist for women like me. Throughout my posts I’ll be documenting my progress after the surgery. I’ll also backtrack and give background on my family history of breast cancer and how its presence in my life led up to my ultimate choice to have a prophylactic mastectomy.

Thanks for reading!

October 2011: It’s in the genes

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A few days after finding out about my mom’s breast cancer diagnosis, I calmed down and stopped being so much of a basket case (meaning I returned to work, started doing my homework assignments again, and could listen to the song “Walk” without bawling.)

On September 30th my mom had sent an email to our “friends and family” mailing list, the people who routinely receive all of the news, good and bad (some of you might be reading this blog entry by way of that mailing list!). It detailed what was going on, what we knew about the cancer, what we didn’t know, and what the probable plan of action would be. This email was the first mention I’d ever seen of the BRCA genes.

On October 7th, Mom met with Erin O’Leary (scroll down that link to read Erin’s brief bio), a genetic counselor at UCLA Medical Center. Erin gave her more information about the BRCA genes and mutations and then did a blood test. The results of the blood test came back to us on October 13th, with a positive result for the BRCA2 genetic mutation.

The big bad scary place: 200 Medical Center Plaza at UCLA.

Mom wasted no time in telling me. Many parents who carry a BRCA mutation are very anxious and worried about telling their children; not my mom. She went straight from UCLA Medical Center (where she got the results) to my office in Santa Monica, took me out to lunch, and told me about the gene mutation. While she went to the restroom, I called Erin O’Leary and made an appointment to see her the next day.

That evening at home I started doing a lot of research on the topic. There were many questions: What were the BRCA genes? What were mutations of these genes? How many women had a mutation? Who was more likely to have a mutation? Could men have them? And most importantly, what were my risks? (The answers to these questions can be found here.)

My appointment with Erin the next day wasn’t necessarily about being tested for the BRCA genes; we just wanted to discuss what it meant for me that I had possibly inherited the same BRCA2 mutation as my mom. I, however, knew I would go forward with the blood test that afternoon.

Knowledge is power. Why wouldn’t I want to know? Growing up as a child of a relatively young breast cancer patient, I always knew that my chances of being diagnosed with breast cancer would be higher. Finding out that I was BRCA2 positive wouldn’t really change how I already felt.

Erin is great. Seriously. She has been such a helpful resource for me along this journey and was since the minute I met her. It was the three of us (Mom came with me) at the appointment. Erin gave me some background about the BRCA genes as well as some materials that had the specific numbers associated with BRCA mutations. We then talked about the typical options for women who are BRCA positive. The way I saw it, there were three options, but the first one was doing nothing–which isn’t actually a good option for anyone. So the only two viable ones were:

  1. Enroll in a program offered by UCLA Medical Center for high-risk women. Start yearly MRIs and mammograms at the age of 25. Start monthly breast self-exams. Start screening for ovarian cancer between ages 25-35. Consider chemoprevention, such as taking a drug called tamoxifen. (For more information about what the Revlon/UCLA Breast Center High Risk Program entails, download the brochure here.)
  2. Elect to have a prophylactic double mastectomy and reconstruction at any age. Elect to have the ovaries removed (oopherectomy) after I’m done having children.

The first choice, to me, seemed too passive. I’d already seen the numbers, and Erin had explained them to me even more; doing intense surveillance for breast cancer wouldn’t stop breast cancer from happening, it would just catch it early.

Before I got my head too involved in the different options, I figured it would be best to actually learn whether or not I had a BRCA gene mutation. Erin, who already knew that I hated needles, offered me two choices: the blood test or the saliva test. I told her I’d suck it up for the blood test.

I really am a baby when it comes to blood tests. And honestly, each time I get one, as soon as it happens I’m like “Oh…that wasn’t that bad…” And it wasn’t!

What was bad was the waiting. UGH! I hate waiting! My blood test was on a Friday afternoon, so it wasn’t sent to the lab until the following Monday. I hoped to hear from Erin by the following Friday, but the day went by without a phone call or email. The Monday after that I still had not heard. So on Tuesday morning (October 25th) I decided to call Erin myself.

I could tell immediately by the tone in her voice that I wasn’t going to be pleased with the results: I had inherited the BRCA2 mutation from my mom. Damn…you know…damn. Okay, I had prepared myself for these results because I already thought I would hear bad news…but still, there was always that little shred of hope that the gene mutation had skipped me.

My BRCA test results, from Myriad Genetics & Laboratories.

Well, at least now I knew for sure. And while the results were not desirable, the timing of their delivery couldn’t have been better: Erin mentioned to me that Lindsay Avner, the founder of an organization for high-risk young women called Bright Pink, would be speaking the following Saturday at a nearby hospital. She emailed the event information to me.

Lindsay Avner, founder of Bright Pink.

I was definitely going to go to the event. There was a lot for me to think about, and I hoped that seeing Lindsay Avner and hearing about her personal story would help me figure out my own.