FRANKLIN, Wisc. — October marks Breast Cancer Awareness Month and with nearly 1 in 8 women in the U.S. diagnosed with the disease during their lifetime, it impacts a lot of people.
For Megan Brieske, her concern felt more like a when, rather than an if.
“My mom was diagnosed with breast cancer. She's actually been diagnosed twice, two different types of breast cancer, and so I started in mammograms in my 30s,” said Brieske.
Last April, she went in for her yearly MRI, when doctors found a tumor in her breast.
“I guess, in my mind, knowing my grandma and my mom had it, I just had the thought that at some point I was going to end up with it,” said Brieske.
Before starting her treatment plan, Brieske decided to participate in Ascension Wisconsin's high-risk genetic cancer screening program.
“It was just about being proactive and trying to, you know, really start to figure out, is this an is this something that is genetically passed on?” said Brieske.
Her counselor, Rhodora Khan, was with her every step of the way.
“I’ve seen the devastation that it has caused the patients. Physically, spiritually, financially and emotionally,” said Khan.
While Brieske's results showed she didn't have the breast cancer gene, it did impact how they treated her illness.
“It very much determined how my treatment plan would go. If you are positive, you go down a different route. So, I was thankful that mine was negative and my mom's was as well,” said Brieske.
Watch: Supporting patients at high risk of breast cancer diagnoses.
Soon after her diagnosis, Brieske had a lumpectomy and 30 sessions of radiation.
She is now taking medications to reduce her risk of the cancer coming back.
“I’m going to be on that for quite some time, many, many years up to probably, I think it sounds like, like seven years or so. And other than that, I'm doing great,” said Brieske.
Khan says she hopes other women find hope in Brieske's story and decide to take back ownership of their health.
“We cannot control when we had our first child, right? But these are things we do have control over. That's essentially what the high-risk breast clinic is all about,” said Khan.
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