You’ve probably heard that 1 in 8 U.S. women will develop breast cancer over the course of her lifetime. But did you know that approximately 1 in 10 have an increased risk because of their genetics?
To kick off Breast Cancer Awareness Month in October breast cancer survivor and SurviveHER founder, Lyndsay Levingston shares her powerful story about surviving breast cancer and the importance of genetic testing in both assessing risk of and determining treatment options.
At just 37 years old, Lyndsay Levingston was living her best life in NYC with a successful broadcast TV career when in July 2019, she felt a lump in her breast. She was soon diagnosed with triple negative, stage 2 breast cancer—an aggressive form of cancer that is more common in Black women, has limited treatment options, and oftentimes a worse prognosis. Halfway through treatment, she learned that a cousin had also been diagnosed with breast cancer and tested positive for the BRCA1 gene mutation which inspired her to look into her family history and get a medical genetic test through Invitae. The results of this test revealed she carried the BRCA1 mutation, which completely altered her cancer treatment plan.
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