Previvor

Actually, the word previvor was coined by the national nonprofit group FORCE (Facing Our Risk of Cancer Empowered), a national organization dedicated to fighting hereditary breast and ovarian cancer. The book you refer to came well after the term originated. A previvor is a high-risk individual who carries an inherited predisposition to cancer but has not yet developed the disease. Many previvors carry the BRCA1/2 genetic mutation. The word has become commonplace in the cancer world. Actually, the word previvor was coined by the national nonprofit group FORCE (Facing Our Risk of Cancer Empowered), a national organization dedicated to fighting hereditary breast and ovarian cancer. The book you refer to came well after the term originated. A previvor is a high-risk individual who carries an inherited predisposition to cancer but has not yet developed the disease. Many previvors carry the BRCA1/2 genetic mutation. The word has become commonplace in the cancer world.

I am a Previvor. After my grandmother, maternal aunt, mother and sisters all had breast cancer, I convinced my siblings to undergo genetic testing with me. All but one of us tested positive for the BRCA2 gene. I was told I had an 85 percent lifetime chance of developing breast cancer. Initially, I just approached this news thinking I'd be very proactive about annual screening and doing my own breast exams, but that led to one false scare after another. I was paralyzed by fear, constantly getting past one false scare after another. I decided to have a prophylactic double mastectomy and prophylactic oopherectomy. It was neither easy nor immediately liberating, but eventually I recovered from all the surgeries and moved on to live a life free of the shadow of breast cancer. We can still get breast cancer, as they can never get all the breast cells, but I have greatly reduced the risk by having prophylactic surgeries. It's not for everyone, but it was definitely the right choice for me. I am a Previvor. After my grandmother, maternal aunt, mother and sisters all had breast cancer, I convinced my siblings to undergo genetic testing with me. All but one of us tested positive for the BRCA2 gene. I was told I had an 85 percent lifetime chance of developing breast cancer. Initially, I just approached this news thinking I'd be very proactive about annual screening and doing my own breast exams, but that led to one false scare after another. I was paralyzed by fear, constantly getting past one false scare after another. I decided to have a prophylactic double mastectomy and prophylactic oopherectomy. It was neither easy nor immediately liberating, but eventually I recovered from all the surgeries and moved on to live a life free of the shadow of breast cancer. We can still get breast cancer, as they can never get all the breast cells, but I have greatly reduced the risk by having prophylactic surgeries. It's not for everyone, but it was definitely the right choice for me.