What do you wish you had known before you took the BRCA test?

It was very unwise for me to take the test without getting any counseling or education. I was really cavalier about it because I was so super confident that I would not have the gene. I thought why bother spending a day getting counseling and education because I'm very busy...I know I'm not going to have this...so it was completely my fault. I just went to a lab, so when I got the results, I had no idea what I was getting myself into, what the repercussions were, what that meant. I would not recommend that to others!

So you should get genetic counseling before taking the test?

Be counseled either by a doctor or a genetic counselor before taking the test so that you really understand in advance in the event that you do test positive, what your choices are.

Who should consider taking the test?

Anyone at high risk of breast cancer due to a strong family history. If you have mothers, sisters, aunts, or if you have one single relative like I did who got cancer early. And early is considered around age 50 or younger (cancer meaning breast or ovarian cancer because the BRCA gene puts you at exponentially high risk for both.)

How did watching your mother fight this huge battle with cancer influence your decision?

I always tell everyone that this whole book is about my mother. I wrote the book for my mother. People often ask me, "Oh my God, was your life cut in half when you found out that you carried the gene? Or when you had the mastectomy? Was it like before and after?" And I always answer, "No. My life was already cut in half after watching my mother suffer and die in that way...". And for me, that is the trauma that haunts me. Had I not witnessed that kind of suffering from cancer in my own mother, there's no way I would have made the decision that I made. So for me, it's all about my mom and it's all about the horror that I witnessed. That stays with me, every single day. And then when I was faced with possibly facing cancer myself, I just had in my mind what my mother went through with cancer and said there's absolutely no way I'm gambling with cancer.