Back in 2018, I did an interview with Grey Genetics about my BRCA1 journey, losing my mother to breast cancer at 13, and the preventive choices I made for my own life. That conversation was important. It helped me process my story and, I hope, gave other people walking a similar path some perspective on what it means to be a previvor.
Six years later, I sat down with them again for a follow-up. A lot has changed. My kids have grown from 10, 12, and 13 into young adults at 15, 17, and 19. And they all decided they wanted to do genetic testing through 23andMe.
This wasn't a decision I pushed them toward. They came to it themselves. Curious about science. About health. About understanding their own genetic predispositions. They know my story inside and out. They've been by my side through every appointment, every surgery, every conversation about risk and choice. We've always been open and honest about what BRCA means for our family.
But I want to be clear about something: I'm not sharing their results on this blog. That's their story to tell if and when they choose to.
What matters here is understanding why I won't share those results. The truth is, genetic testing outcomes carry real weight no matter which way they go. If a child tests positive for BRCA, suddenly they're facing the same decisions I faced at their age. The worry. The choices about surgery, about timing, about their future. They have to figure out what prevention looks like for them, just like I did. That's a lot to carry, and it's deeply personal.
But a negative result isn't simple either. I've seen the guilt that can come with it. The "why not me?" feeling when a sibling carries the mutation and you don't. Or the complicated relief mixed with worry for someone you love. And if results are different across siblings, there's this new dynamic to navigate. One child worried about their future, another relieved but maybe feeling guilty about that relief. It changes family conversations in ways that are hard to predict.
My kids understand all of this. They were prepared for whatever the results would be. But preparing for something and actually living with the outcome are two different things. Those are their feelings to process, their choice to share or not share. What I can tell you is that we're talking about it openly as a family, supporting each other, and taking it one day at a time.
The full conversation covers so much more than I can fit here. If you want to hear directly about this next chapter, the full interview is available on the Grey Genetics podcast.
You can listen here: Spotify or Grey Genetics website
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