LOS ANGELES (KABC) — Being identified with breast most cancers with no household historical past shouldn’t be unusual.
In reality, nearly all of instances happen in ladies with no household historical past, however one younger breast most cancers fighter was advised one thing that was laborious to consider.
Rachelle Lee has been documenting her journey on social media to succeed in different younger ladies, and her movies are supposed to be sassy and irreverent.
It is how the wonder and vogue entrepreneur will get individuals to listen to her message.
“I had breast most cancers at 29 years outdated, and it is potential. It is uncommon, nevertheless it’s potential, and so I would like the world to know that younger breast most cancers does exist,” Lee mentioned.
However this by no means crossed Lee’s thoughts till 2020.
“I felt some ache and that is once I found a lump,” she mentioned.
The most cancers had unfold to her lymph nodes, however what actually shocked her was what a genetic check revealed.
Lee examined optimistic for the breast most cancers gene BRCA 2, however nobody else in her household did.
“My dad and mom had been unfavorable and I used to be optimistic. It simply did not make any sense and even the docs had been just a little bit stumped,” Lee mentioned.
Docs name it a “de novo mutation”.
“It is a spontaneous mutation throughout the breast most cancers gene or genome,” mentioned Medical Director of RadNet Dr. Jason McKellop.
He mentioned a couple of dozen instances have been documented within the medical literature. Having the BRCA 2 mutation places Lee at an elevated danger of growing one other breast most cancers or ovarian most cancers.
“As excessive as 85% lifetime danger of growing the illness,” McKellop mentioned.
“Seeing that I had the BRCA mutation, to me, it made sense to completely go together with the double mastectomy route,” mentioned Lee.
For now, she’s holding off on additionally having her ovaries eliminated, hoping to have children sometime.
“There was a lot extra that got here with breast most cancers than simply the remedies itself,” she mentioned.
Lee makes use of her platform to succeed in different younger breast most cancers sufferers. All through her remedy, she says getting made up helped elevate her spirits.
She began a nonprofit to supply free makeovers to sufferers and caregivers.
“Now that I am on the opposite facet, I simply … I search to bless others and to offer again the place I can,” Lee mentioned.
In addition to, being a medical time period, “de novo” means begin anew and that is what Lee is doing.
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