{"id":27077,"date":"2021-05-19T19:48:38","date_gmt":"2021-05-19T19:48:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cmshub.wpengine.com\/?p=344316"},"modified":"2024-11-03T15:14:55","modified_gmt":"2024-11-03T15:14:55","slug":"woman-develops-breast-cancer-after-double-mastectomy-has-to-have-the-surgery-a-second-time","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ogkologos.com\/en\/woman-develops-breast-cancer-after-double-mastectomy-has-to-have-the-surgery-a-second-time\/","title":{"rendered":"Woman Develops Breast Cancer After Double Mastectomy, Has to Have the Surgery a Second Time"},"content":{"rendered":"

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When she was just 36 years old, Sarah Saphier<\/a> was told she had the BRCA1 gene mutation. She was given a 95 percent chance of developing breast cancer in her lifetime and a 70 percent chance of developing ovarian cancer.<\/span><\/p>\n

Sarah, a mobile hairdresser, made the difficult decision to undergo a double mastectomy<\/a>, hoping that the preventative surgery would keep breast cancer at bay and allow her to live her life without worrying so much about cancer.<\/span><\/p>\n

After her surgery, Sarah felt much more confident about her cancer risk. In fact, she even canceled a life insurance policy that would have paid out in the event that she was diagnosed with cancer. And she went on with her life.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Photo: Facebook\/Sarah Saphier<\/a><\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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But in April of 2014, while she was taking a shower, she performed a self-exam on her remaining breast tissue and felt a lump the size of a pea in the middle of her right breast.<\/span><\/p>\n

Sarah went to see a doctor and was diagnosed with an aggressive type of triple-negative breast cancer<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

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\u201cWhen I found the lump, I could not believe it. I was absolutely devastated,\u201d says Sarah. \u201cI felt like I\u2019d put myself through massive operations and reconstructions \u2013 all for nothing.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

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Photo: Facebook\/Sarah Saphier<\/a><\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Sarah was given a few treatment options, but she ultimately opted to have her double mastectomy redone, followed by chemo. Medical advances over the last several years had enabled surgeons to remove more tissue than they were able to in her first mastectomy, hopefully making the surgery more successful.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Then, the day before her 47th birthday, Sarah started a chemotherapy regimen.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt was horrendous. Chemotherapy nearly killed me,\u201d she recalls. \u201cI lost all my hair and had absolutely every side effect \u2013 sickness, diarrhoea, fatigue.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

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Photo: Facebook\/Sarah Saphier<\/a><\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Now, however, five years after her cancer diagnosis, Sarah is cancer-free<\/a>, and the doctors say it\u2019s unlikely to come back.<\/span><\/p>\n

A case like Sarah\u2019s is rare, but it can absolutely happen. Double mastectomies can lower a person\u2019s risk of developing breast cancer, but they cannot completely prevent the disease.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI was the third person in the country to develop breast cancer after having my breasts removed \u2013 they now call it risk-reducing, not preventative,\u201d says Sarah. \u201cNow, after seeing what I went through, I want my sons to know if they\u2019ve got a high risk.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

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Photo: Facebook\/Sarah Saphier<\/a><\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Sarah, now 53, is campaigning to raise awareness for the genetic risk of breast cancer for both men and women in every way she can, and she\u2019s hoping to have her sons<\/a>, ages 16 and 18, tested for the BRCA1 gene mutation within the next couple of years.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI want my boys to get tested, and, when they\u2019re both of age, they will do it together,\u201d says Sarah. \u201cMen don\u2019t realise that they can get breast cancer or tend not to check their breasts. My boys \u2013 if they have the gene \u2013 have a higher risk of getting breast cancer, and I also want them to be tested in case they have daughters. After seeing what I went through, I think they\u2019d want to know if they\u2019ve got a high risk. I always say knowledge is power.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

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Photo: Facebook\/Sarah Saphier<\/a><\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

BRCA gene mutation testing<\/a> is something that people tend to consider as only being important for women, but Prevent founder and chairman Mr. Barr stresses that it can be vital for men as well in certain situations:<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cMen should be tested for the BRCA1 gene as well \u2013 especially if they have daughters \u2013 as they have a much higher than average possibility of getting breast cancer, and a higher than average risk of prostate cancer.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

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Photo: Facebook\/Sarah Saphier<\/a><\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Mr. Barr<\/a> also stresses that it\u2019s extremely rare to get breast cancer after a risk-reducing mastectomy surgery. \u201cThere are hundreds of women in the UK who have had risk-reducing mastectomies, and it doesn\u2019t eliminate the risk 100 percent. There are now a handful of women who have gone on to develop breast cancer \u2013 it\u2019s very unusual but it can happen.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

People with the BRCA1 or BRCA2 gene mutation who are considering a double mastectomy should know it is still possible to develop breast cancer, but it should not be a large influencing factor in the decision, since it is so rare.<\/span><\/p>\n

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