Removing your ovaries can significantly reduce ovarian cancer risk for people with BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutations. But knowing what is medically recommended and feeling ready to actually do it are two very different things.
In this deeply personal episode of BRCA & Beyond, Marisa shares where she is right now at 40, facing the decision of when to remove her ovaries because of BRCA2.
At 38, she chose to remove her fallopian tubes while keeping her ovaries through the WISP study, giving her more time before surgical menopause. She knew ovary removal would eventually become part of the conversation. She just didn't expect the decision to feel this difficult when the time came.
Marisa talks openly about her fears surrounding surgical menopause, HRT, weight changes, mood and mental health, sexual health, and the potential long-term effects of early ovary removal. She also explores one of the hardest parts of previvorship: making a permanent decision about healthy parts of your body to prevent a cancer that may or may not ever happen.
How do you balance ovarian cancer prevention with quality of life? What happens when there is no reliable screening test to give you the reassurance you want? And what do you do when you understand the medical recommendation but still don't feel ready?
There is no neatly packaged answer at the end of this episode. This is an honest conversation from the middle of the decision, before hindsight makes everything feel clearer than it actually was.
Trusted Resources:
National Cancer Institute (NCI)
BRCA1 and BRCA2 cancer risks and risk reducing surgery
https://www.cancer.gov/about-cancer/causes-prevention/genetics/brca-fact-sheet
American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG)
BRCA mutations, ovarian cancer risk and risk reducing surgery
https://www.acog.org/womens-health/faqs/brca1-and-brca2-mutations
The Menopause Society
Menopause, hormone therapy and menopause care
https://menopause.org/patient-education
FORCE: Facing Our Risk of Cancer Empowered
Hereditary cancer education, research and support
WISP: Women Choosing Surgical Prevention
Research on salpingectomy with delayed oophorectomy and quality of life
https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT02760849
TUBA WISP II
Ongoing research evaluating the cancer prevention safety of salpingectomy with delayed oophorectomy compared with standard risk reducing salpingo oophorectomy
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