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NORTH SALT LAKE — Jamie Somers sits with her aunt and cousin in her living room laughing and chatting. Laughter hides the pain.
"I grew up without a mom and I can't do that to my kids," said Jamie Somers, who lives in North Salt Lake.
Marcia Gray, Somers' aunt said, "I think about my sister."
The women of this family know loss. Somers' mom died of breast cancer when she was 8.
"Most of my memories are of her surgeries and treatments," Somers said.
They have also lost several other family members to breast cancer. So when they each tested positive for a harmful mutation in the BRCA 1 or BRCA 2 genes, they made some tough decisions.
"I think all of us did it because of what we watched my mom go through," Somers said.
They all had double mastectomies and other prophylactic surgeries.
"What I first found out I was positive, it was a hard blow to take," said Amy Cobbley, Somers' cousin. "I have daughters and a son that I want to show if they are positive, it's OK to be proactive and do the things that are necessary to beat cancer before it beats you."
All women have about a 10-12 percent lifetime risk of getting breast cancer. Women who are BRCA 1 positive have a 50-60 percent chance, and those who are BRCA 2 positive have a 45-50 percent chance. Doctors say about half of women who test positive for the mutation choose prophylactic surgeries. But that number is increasing.
Most people think about actor Angelina Jolie when they think about radical measures taken to prevent breast cancer. But in reality it can take years and there can be complications. But most women say it's worth it.
Gray said the process was much harder than she expected. "When you come home from the hospital and look at yourself in the mirror from what you were before, to what you are when you get home, it's kind of a shocker," she said.
Gray developed an infection so her reconstruction is delayed. And they all say it's hard letting a part of yourself, and your womanhood, go. "It is very emotional. You wonder if you did the right thing," Gray said.
Still, she, and the others say they have no regrets.
Dr. Daniel Sellers said reconstruction has become a more refined process.
"Most of the time there's a significant loss of sensation but there's not a loss of form and that makes them pretty comfortable."
These women said what they've lost to breast cancer prevention, they've gained in peace of mind. For Somers, the struggle is a sort of dedication to honor her late mother.
"I had to do it for her," she said. "She would have done it in a second."
