It's Cancer - Note to my daughters, nieces and cousins

For my daughters: I was at MD Anderson today for genetic screening. After providing extensive family medical history (from grandparents to grandson) the researchers determined that chances are nil that I'm a carrier of BRCA1 or BRCA2. Through a recently completed study of women at MDA, it was concluded that if a woman carries a BRCA gene, there would be (1) a family history of breast or ovarian cancers (none on my side of the family) and (2) my cancer would have occurred before the age of 60. 

For all: I was told to inform my daughters, nieces and cousins to have regular mammograms, starting at age 40, and to be sure to tell their doctors that their _____ (insert: mother, aunt, cousin) has triple-negative breast cancer. This may require special screening for early detection since triple-negative breast cancer isn't a good candidate for hormone therapy and tends to be more aggressive. Currently triple-negative is more difficult to treat, but researchers are paying a great deal of attention to it and working to find new and better ways to treat it. (I'm currently participating in a study at MDA regarding triple-negative breast cancer.) This information may be confusing, so please contact me if I can provide more information. The important thing is to let your doctors know about my triple-negative breast cancer.

Today I'm celebrating showers! I was cleared by MDA today to resume showering. So excited to stop washing my hair in the sink so as not to get water or soap on my chest where incisions were made last week.