Avoiding cancer: The mastectomy choice - #lakewoodnews

Stephanie Burgess, 39, is ready for 2016 to be over.The Castle Rock mom of two recently underwent a hysterectomy and a double mastectomy. The decision came after genetic testing showed she had a 70 to 90 percent chance of getting ovarian and breast cancer.The scare hit close to home.When Burgess was 22 years old, she lost her mother to ovarian cancer. Starting from age 19, she was a primary caretaker during the three-year battle.Watching her mother try every treatment to no avail was devastating as a daughter, she said. Now, as a mother herself, she wanted to take every precaution to ensure she would never have to say goodbye to her children.But having the surgeries was an admittedly difficult decision."Sometimes, I wake up and say `I can't believe I did that,' " Burgess said.Her body no longer feels like her own. Although she's soon starting reconstructive surgery, it's not the same the self she knew before, Burgess said.Recovery time also has its setbacks. Movement is limited in the weeks after a mastectomy and it comes with some pain.And yet, Burgess said, it was worth it. She can explain why through a single statement her surgeon made before beginning the mastectomy."Your risk is 84 percent right now," the doctor said, about getting breast cancer. "When I wake you up, I'm going to tell you that it's 4."While the average person's risk of breast cancer is 12 percent, those carrying the BRCA 1 or 2 gene have an 80 to 84 percent chance of developing breast cancer, according to Burgess' breast surgeon, Joyce Moore.Moore has been in practice for 23 years and works at Sky Ridge Medical Center in Lone Tree. A mastectomy can lower a woman's risk of breast cancer by up to 90 percent, she said."It's not as bad as they think it is," Moore said about the procedure. "It's not like their grandmothers' mastectomies."Today's surgeries are less painful and less disfiguring than those of decades past, she said. Women can also make the choice to have reconstructive surgery. It's not a requirement, she said, but it sometimes gives women a result that allows them to feel like themselves again.Like any medical procedure, there are risks, Moore said. Recovery time and regaining a full range of motion take work. While many return to a normal life in two to four weeks, others experience long-term or even chronic pain following a mastectomy or reconstructive surgery, she said.Burgess believes knowledge is power: Knowing whether or not you have a cancer-causing gene allows you to make the best decisions for your health.However, it can also be a strenuous situation, said Jinnah Phillips, a breast radiologist at Castle Rock Adventist Hospital. Knowing about the high risk factor can lead to psychological and emotional turmoil for women, she said."Every time they come in for a mammogram they're wondering if the shoe is going to drop," she said.As a radiologist, Phillips helps monitor for signs of cancer and calls for biopsies when necessary. The process to diagnosis is stressful, she said, especially when a routine mammogram is enough to make some women nervous.Having the surgeries is often to bring mental relief, she said.Carrying the BRCA gene has, in a way, made her feel lucky, Burgess said. Because she knew she was predisposed to the disease, she had the opportunity to act -- something her mother didn't have.Toward the end of her mother's battle, she asked Burgess' permission to go."And I lied and said `yes,' " Burgess said through tears.Burgess is hopeful that now her children will never face the same terrible farewell."Mostly, I feel the relief," she said. "And I feel strong."

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