My mother fought breast cancer for almost a decade and died at 56 . My children never have the chance to know her and experience how loving and gracious she was. We often speak of “ Mommy's mommy ”, and they asked if the same could happen to me. I have always told them not to worry, but the truth is I carry a “faulty ”gene, BRCA 1 , which sharply increases my risk of developing breast cancer and ovarian cancer.

我母亲和乳腺癌战斗了近10年，56岁时去世。我的孩子们从未有机会感受她的慈爱和优雅。我们通常称她为“妈咪的妈咪”。孩子们经常问我，我是否会经历同样的事情，我总是告诉他们不用担心。但事实是，我携带了“有问题”的基因——BRCA1。它极大地增加了我患乳腺癌和卵巢癌的风险。

My doctors estimated that I had an 87 percent risk of breast cancer and a 50 percent risk of ovarian cancer. Once I knew that this was my reality, I decided to be proactive and to minimize the risk as much as I could.

医生估计我有87%的概率患乳腺癌，50%的概率患卵巢癌。一得知这是我要面对的现实，我便立刻决定主动出击，以最大限度地降低患癌的风险。

My own process began on Feb. 2 with a procedure known as a “ nipple delay ”, which rules out disease in the breast ducts behind the nipple and draws extra blood flow to the area. This causes some pain and a lot of bruises, but it increases the chance of saving the nipple.

第一步是2月2日的“乳头保留”手术，这个手术切除了乳头后方乳腺导管中的病变，并将更多的血液导入这个部位。这会导致疼痛和大量瘀伤，不过能增加留住乳头的概率。

Two weeks later I had the major surgery, where the breast tissue is removed and temporary fillers are put in place. The operation took eight hours.

2周后，我接受了主要的手术，切除了乳腺组织并填充了一些临时填充物。这个手术用了8个小时。

Nine weeks later, the final surgery is completed with the reconstruction of the breasts with an implant. On April 27 , I finished the three months of medical procedures that the mastectomies involved.

9周后，我接受了最后一次手术，用植入物重塑了乳房。4月27日，我结束了针对乳腺切除手术的三个月疗程。

I wanted to write this to tell other women that the decision to have a mastectomy was not easy. But it is one I am very happy that I made. My chances of developing breast cancer have dropped from 87 percent to under 5 percent. I can tell my children that they don't need to fear they will lose me to breast cancer.

我记录下这些，是想告诉其他女性，下决心做乳房切除手术很难。不过，我非常高兴我做了这样一个决定。我患上乳腺癌的概率从87%下降到5%以下。我可以告诉我的孩子，他们不必害怕乳腺癌会带走我了。

The cost of testing for BRCA 1 and BRCA 2 , at more than $ 3 , 000 in the United States, remains an obstacle for many women. Life comes with many challenges. The ones that should not scare us are the ones we can take on and take control of.

在美国，检测BRCA1和BRCA2的费用要3 000多美元，这成为很多女性的障碍。虽然生活中充满挑战，但有些挑战吓不倒我们，因为我们能应对和掌握这些挑战。