My name is April Bhattacharya and I’ve created this blog to keep family and friends updated with my journey. I hope that others out there that are facing these same decisions find my blog encouraging and informative.

After losing multiple women in my family, including my mother, to breast cancer, I chose to have genetic testing. I found out in March 2010 that I tested positive for the BRCA2 mutation. This does not mean it causes breast or ovarian cancer, but it leads to an increased risk for its development. I have an 85% lifetime risk of breast cancer and a 40% lifetime risk of ovarian cancer. The general population’s lifetime risk for breast cancer is about 12% and less than 2% for ovarian cancer.

After doing much research, discussing things with my husband, talking with doctors and genetic counselors, I came to the conclusion that a prophylactic (preventative) bilateral mastectomy (removal of both breasts) and reconstruction would be my personal best decision. By having this surgery I reduce my risk of getting breast cancer by 90%. I have also taken on a vegan diet. At 23 years old, I am empowered to take steps to prevent breast and/or ovarian cancer from taking my life early. I am grateful to be a woman with options that could change the future of my family.

Tuesday, June 16, 2015

Wow! So much spam...

Hey y'all! Sorry I stopped doing updates. I logged in tonight to write a post and saw tons of spam comments!! YUCK! I have been clearing out all the junk tonight and still have more to go. Blogger doesn't make it very easy to delete spam comments since you have to do one at a time and then go back to the post, scroll down to the comments and then delete another one. I'll keep cleaning up this week and hope to post a little update soon :)
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5 comments:

Unknown said...

I would love to see your final result and get your feelings on how they feel. I did a direct to implant procedure 2 weeks ago and I still feel like an elephant is sitting on my chest. Did you get nipple replacement or tattoo?
Once again, thanks so much for sharing your story. I will be so glad when all this is over! I go tomorrow to get the drains removed. Not sure what else to expect after that.

June 28, 2015 at 9:41 AM
Unknown said...

Hi April! I can't even express how grateful I am for your blog posts! I read through the entire thing last night in preparation for my prophylactic nipple sparing bilateral mastectomy coming up on 1.29.16. I feel so much more prepared for the surgeries after reading your experience, but the implant choice is still weighing on me a lot. Especially after reading you had 2 revision surgeries and switched implants! I am 5' 9" and about 135 lbs so my doc recommended smooth, round, high profile implants just like you had put in initially. But after reading a ton about the complications, I'm really leaning towards to Sientra textured shaped high cohesive gel implants with the round base. So I guess I'm just wondering what complication caused you to switch implants, what implant you switched to, and how you like the final results! Again, that you so much for your wonderful blog and I hope to hear from you soon! *Brittany

January 17, 2016 at 10:44 AM
Unknown said...

I'm in the process of working with a breast surgeon and plastic surgeon to have preventive double mastectomy.. My mother,grandmother and aunts and several cousins who have had breast cancer .. My question is did insurance cover your surgery since it was consider preventive . I have had multiple tumors that were b9 , biopsies as well . I've had about 6 mammograms in the past year and half due dense breast tissue and not ever getting clear images ..

March 5, 2016 at 8:37 PM
Unknown said...

Hey Brittany, just wanted to respond with my own experience and hopefully it helps you! My insurance covered the bilateral mastectomy and reconstruction, I just had to pay 20% of the hospital stay which ended up being around $3800.

March 6, 2016 at 5:13 PM
Shae said...

i meet with a specialist on Monday. I would love to hear about your final outcome. Ive struggled to find information on this procedure. Your blog has been a huge help.

March 29, 2016 at 1:05 PM

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