Next Chapter: Losing My Mother, Previving For My Children

Eleanor first interviewed Heather in 2018. At that time, Heather was several years out from completing a prophylactic mastectomy and oophorectomy related to her BRCA1 mutation and was living in Singapore. Her children were ages 10, 12, and 13. Heather shared her story of losing her mother to BRCA1-related breast cancer when she was only 13 and her determination to learn her risks and take all the steps she could to be there for her children. Today, Heather is living in Spain and her children are 15, 17, and 19. When I reached out to Heather about a follow-up Next Chapter interview, they had all just mailed their DNA to 23andMe for testing. Resources Listen to Heather’s 2018 interview with Patient Stories My BRCA Story (Heather’s blog) Heather’s books on Amazon: Why is Mommy Having Surgery? She Looks OK to Me: For families with BRCA risk and undergoing prophylactic surgery and implant reconstruction This Much I Know Connect with Heather on Social Media Heather on IG: @expattravelmom @my_brca_story @learnwithheatherb Check out other Patient Stories podcast episodes. Read other Patient Stories on the Grey Genetics Patient Stories Page. Interested in digging deeper into the professional issues raised in the podcast? Consider joining the Patient Stories Club! Do you want to support Patient Stories? You can make a donation online! Are you looking for genetic counseling? Patient Stories is sponsored by Grey Genetics, an independent telehealth genetic counseling and consulting company. Book an appointment with a genetic counselor specialized in your area of concern. All genetic counseling appointments take place over secure, HIPAA-compliant video-conferencing or by phone. Looking for a place to collect your family history and share with relatives? Check out the FamGenix app. Grey Genetics is no longer active on social media. To receive occasional email updates, sign up for our mailing list.