Tina Brooks

& her mom:

 

I remember when my Mom called to tell me that they'd found a lump and were going to have to perform a mastectomy. I'm not even sure I knew what a mastectomy was. I was in my mid-20's and I didn't think much of it.

When I gave birth to my son at the age of 30, I asked my ObGyn about getting my tubes tied, he refused. He said that with my Mom having breast cancer, messing with my reproductive system was a very bad idea and he wouldn't do it, but I still didn't think much of it, then.

Then I went to a wine and cheese sponsored by one of the mutual fund companies. I learned more about breast cancer that day than I ever wanted to know. I learned that I have a 50/50 chance of getting it. I really started thinking about it then and I've spent the last few years hoping I won't get it.

As I get older, I get more fearful. I can't watch a TV commercial for Breast Cancer without knowing that one day I'm going to get it. It's kind of weird because over that same time, as I feel myself dealing with more and more fear, I've watched my Mom become more and more comfortable with the whole thing.

She isn't weird about it, and she isn't afraid that she's going to die. She doesn't even think about it much, at all. And all I know is that I sit here in fear, hoping, waiting that if we've both got the same 50/50 chance of getting it, that my sister will be the one.

Then reality kicks in, and I realize that my sister must be sitting there with the same fear. And we both know, whether we like it or not. That even if our sister gets it, we've still got that same 50/50 chance. It's like a flip of a coin, and we're just waiting for the call.