This image is one of my paintings that I did in March of this year. My truth.

My mother survived Stage IV ovarian cancer in 2019. Her surgeon encouraged her to have genetic testing. She, my sister, and I are all BRCA2 positive.

Last year we had prophylactic hysterectomies. This year we had our mastectomies.

She was able to have direct implants over the muscle, and I had to have tissue expanders.

It’s been incredibly painful. My surgery was 7/12/21 and my last fill was 10/10/21. I am currently at 725ml

The expanders are hard as rocks. I cannot wait to get the actual implants. I can tolerate looking incredibly disfigured knowing that I have reduced my risk of getting cancer.

Surgeon: Dr. Henry at Penn State Hershey Medical in Hershey, Pennsylvania, USA