When I think about my chest, I think about my heart.   My heart breaking, or melting, or stopping, or bursting with love.  I’ve had something weighing on my heart for a while, and I need to share it with the world.

For the past 6 years, I have known that I have roughly an 85% chance of getting breast cancer after I learned that I have the BRCA1 gene mutation.   Dealing with the possibility – or really eventuality that I would get cancer – hasn’t been easy, but I’m not sharing this bit of personal information for your sympathy.  As a mutant, I have a super power.  I have been told my destiny by doctors and genetic counselors.  It’s taken me awhile to figure out that I have the power to change my destiny.  To that end, I have decided to have my doctor remove my breasts this summer.

Inspired by the many ah-ha moments and wise people that helped me to reach this decision, I am going to write about my adventures here, for all of my friends and family to see.  For me, this isn’t just about breast cancer, pink buckets of chicken, my mutation, or whining about the fact that I’m saying goodbye to two very dear friends of mine.  It’s about asking everyone reading this to know your own genetic risk factors, to be proactive about your health, and to see that you have the power to change your own future, whatever your own personal mutation may be.