Breast Cancer Awareness Month is drawing to a close and we are thrilled to be able to share this wonderful blog, written by Alex, who shares her experiences of how discovering she carried a BRCA2 mutation quite literally saved her life.
My Journey with BRCA2: Navigating Life After Cancer
Alexandra Perry
Founder of H.E.R Bodywear
When I was 29 and pregnant with my first son, I received news that would change my life; I tested positive for the BRCA2 gene mutation. But to be honest, I wasn’t at all shocked. I knew all about BRCA2 – thanks to my family history – and rather than feel scared or worried, I felt empowered. Armed with this knowledge, I knew I could take control of my options, and my priority was reducing my rink of breast cancer.
I’d already made up my mind that I wanted a preventative double mastectomy with implant reconstruction, but I had to wait until I’d delivered my baby.
After my son was born, I had planned to breastfeed for about three months. But as much as I tried to rush through it and transition him to bottle feeding, driven by an overwhelming sense of urgency to get my mastectomy booked, it wasn’t that simple. My body just wouldn’t stop producing milk, and despite my best efforts, it took until he was almost 6 months old before I could finally get the process moving. I was 30 years old; my son was half a year old, and just as I was gearing up for surgery with all the pre-op scans and tests, they discovered something unexpected – I already had cancer.
It was a huge shock to learn I had cancer. I had zero symptoms – nothing. It was a silent danger taking root in my right breast, completely undetected. My mind went into overdrive, and I remember frantically googling whether I could have passed cancer to my son through breastmilk. Yet, amidst the fear, I felt a strange sense of gratitude. That BRCA2 diagnosis (the one some might call a curse) had actually saved my life. If I hadn’t taken that genetic test, I might never have known about the cancer until it was too late.
Oddly enough, knowing that almost all the women on my maternal side carried the same gene gave me a sense of connection. Even though I was the only one who’d been diagnosed with cancer, I didn’t feel completely alone.
I went through with the double mastectomy, and it felt like the universe had handed me a second chance. Afterward, I was left with two things: a fresh bill of good health and a five-year prescription for Tamoxifen. But most importantly, I was here, alive. I couldn’t stop thinking about how different my story could have been if I hadn’t been tested—how close I’d come to a completely different ending.
As time passed, life moved forward. My son was growing up, and I felt like I had dodged a massive bullet. But then, fast forward a few years to the start of the COVID lockdown, and I found myself a single parent now with two beautiful boys (my pride and joy), trying to stay sane in the chaos of the world, when cancer came knocking on my door again. This time, it was different, and I was terrified.
Both of my breast cancer diagnoses were ER+ and PR+ (meaning the cancer fed on oestrogen), and the treatment this time was far more intense. It was an aggressive stage 3 cancer, requiring multiple surgeries, hormone-blocking treatments, and even the removal of my ovaries and fallopian tubes, which plunged me into early menopause. I felt isolated, scared, and exhausted, the entire experience was completely different from the first.
Navigating early menopause has been challenging, but here I am, healthy once more. And through it all, I keep coming back to the fact that knowing my genetic risk factors saved my life – not once but twice.
Cancer didn’t break me. It changed me… it also lit a fire under me. Today, I’m channelling my experiences into something positive. I’m designing post-surgery bras through my brand, H.E.R. Bodywear, specifically for women who’ve undergone mastectomies. After my own surgeries, I felt there was a need for products that addressed both physical comfort and emotional well-being. I wanted to create something that made women feel confident, comfortable, strong and empowered, something I wish had been available during my recovery.
My journey has come full circle, and now I have the chance to give back to others who are walking a path I know all too well. I’ve come to understand the true power of community. There’s something extraordinary about realising you’re not alone. We, as women, are so much stronger when we stand together. Being part of a sisterhood—a network of women who truly get it, who understand both the highs and the lows, the good days and the brutal ones—is profoundly powerful. We lift each other up and always show up for one another.
Thank you so much for sharing your story with us Alex. You have turned a negative into a huge positive and are using that mindset to give back to the community and make their journeys that little bit easier- so amazing! xxx