A Toronto mother chose to undergo preventive surgical removal of breasts and ovaries, saying she was willing to do "anything possible" to be part of her young sons' lives.
Andrea Magalhaes first learned about ovarian cancer when her mother was diagnosed with the disease. Her mother, Maria Lima, battled cancer for eight years before she died.
After their mother’s death, Magalhaes and her two sisters decided to get tested for the BRCA genetic mutation. Presence of the BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes greatly increase a woman's chance of developing breast and or ovarian cancer in their lifetime.
Both her sisters tested negative, but Megalhaes was found to be a carrier of BRCA1.
"I cried. It took me a while to deal with it. But at the same time, I knew I was going to do anything possible to be around for my family," the mother of two young boys told CTV Toronto.
At the age of 34, Magalhaes opted to have her ovaries and fallopian tubes removed in a surgery called an oophorectomy. Magalhaes also had her breasts removed in a prophylactic mastectomy.
The preventative surgeries can reduce a woman's risk of breast and ovarian cancer by more than 90 per cent, gynecological oncologist Marcus Bernardini told CTV Toronto.
Bernardini said that, like Magalhaes, the majority of people who carry BRCA1 genetic mutation decide to have the preventative operation.
"It's such a lethal condition and we cannot screen for it effectively," Bernardini said.
Magalhaes said she believed the surgery was the best choice for her and her family.
"I think life is too precious to take it for granted."
