r/BRCA

I just had my first implant replacement surgery last month. My old implants were by Allergan and I now have new implants by Motiva. My new implants are bigger and I’m getting used to my new size. Did anyone else here go through the same thing?

I‘m happy with my new implants, they look more natural and my scars are less visible now. I used to have quite a big gap between my old implants and they made this gap a lot smaller with my new ones. My surgeon explained this is why the implants are a bit bigger now.

Does anyone here also have larger implants compared to their natural breasts or former implants? How was this for you? I’m a little self conscious now because I’m slim built and it feels like my chest is gigantic. I also had to buy new bra’s because my old ones don’t fit anymore. Feels like my brain is again trying to get used to these implants just like when I had my first back in 2015.

I don’t know, it feels a bit like a first world problem and I felt like only other women with BRCA know what I’m experiencing. Thanks for reading! I had to get this off my chest (literally).

Ahh what a journey. Just looking to vent I don’t know if I want reassurance or just people to relate.

Mum died in April 2025 of numerous cancers. Ovarian, uterine, lymph nodes, etc etc. found out she carried BRCA2, got tested myself and came back positive.

I’ve alwaaaays considered myself a healthy person. I eat home cooked food 90% of the time, never sick, never even broken a bone. Now I’ve tested positive for this and it’s like my health has gone from 100 to 0, or so it seems.

I lived in the UK most of my life, and if there’s anyone in here from there you will know how absolutely appalling their healthcare system is. I’ve since moved to Texas start of last year, got tested for the gene in February and had my result back in march. My siblings haven’t even been tested yet but have found out it can apparently take 9 months to come back. So that just paints the picture of the difference in healthcare now.

Anyway, my PCP here in the US has of course sent me for all sorts of testing. Ive ultimately already decided to go down the route of having a bi-lateral mastectomy and reconstruction which will be taking place at the end of the year. Mammogram booked for next month for that specifically. But that’s not what I’m worried about.

2 weeks ago i had a transvaginal ultrasound carried out. They’ve found I’ve got a huge cyst on my right ovary (5cm x 5.5cm x 3.4cm) and it has a papillary growth on it nearly 2cm wide. Because of this and the BRCA they want to not only remove the cyst, but are taking my entire right ovary with it. A referral has now been sent to oncology and from my doctors reaction I think she suspects the growth on the cyst is cancerous, although she didn’t specifically say so. I’m 27 years old.

This brings me back to the NHS in the UK. Every single month I went to the sex clinic to get my contraceptive pill, they would take my vitals, every single time I told them that I was experiencing a blinding pain on my right side, especially during periods and ovulation. Always dismissed. “Take some ibuprofen or paracetamol. Use hot compress it’s just period pains”. Golf ball sized cyst. Never investigated. Never listened to. 27 and now having a whole ovary removed. The anger inside me is like no other. The empathy for all the other women constantly belittled, sent away, never heard out, never looked into.

Listen to your body ladies. Anyway, if you’ve read or got this far- thanks for staying. If anyone’s had anything similar or if you just want to vent back I’m all ears. My husband understands but I don’t know how many other people do get the gravity of the situation. Well. It is what it is.

66, BRCA1, found out 2 years ago. PDMX with immediate DIEP flap one week ago.

I'm still in the "what the hell have I done to myself" phase due to functional limits and a certain level of pain especially when I do something like coughing, but it's improving.

And my pathology hit MyChart last night and, like with the nipple sparing lift last fall, all clear.

So it seems like I remain in the 30%. Maybe I'll send my husband out to buy a lotto ticket.

My new gf has the BRCA gene mutation, and I want to help her find resources and advocacy groups to assist her.

I don’t know much about any of this I just want to be of use.

Any advice is appreciated.

I frequently read the breast cancer, hysterectomy, and BRCA subreddits and I have noticed something. When women get a hysterectomy, they often post a picture of themselves in the hospital bed (sometimes with a thumbs up or just looking cute or happy post surgery). It doesn’t seem to be part of mastectomy culture, but definitely seems to be part of hysterectomy culture to photodocument. Have you noticed this too? Thoughts?

Update: I just want to thank everyone for helping me process this. What started as a semi innocent post is turning into a lot of self reflection on my cancer journey.

I had my PDMX back in February; I wasn't eligible for Direct-to-Implant reconstruction since my breasts were too large, so my surgeon did double drape reconstruction (basically Goldilocks). I've decided I still want implants however, and so my implant surgery is officially scheduled for August 13th.

I'm curious to hear from those who got implants *after* the mastectomy, especially months later, how did your recovery go? How long did you take off from work? My surgeon already told me I won't need drains again, so that's a relief 😌

Any answers, feedback, and tips are greatly appreciated!

29F, just got the diagnosis for BRCA1(SUCKS)… has anyone just went straight to double masectomy without doing any screening… ?

Hi all,

New to the sub and I’m 33 and was recently diagnosed with BRCA 2. My husband and I are thinking about kids. We have never felt a strong need to have kids but I was considering trying to conceive before the diagnosis and now I’m rethinking. I feel like with all the risks and responsibilities of handling this diagnosis, I feel like I might not be able to raise a child.

I appreciate this community a lot.

I was diagnosed with TNBC in 2024 and finished all active treatment in Dec 2025. I’m cancer-free now and 37F.

I’m a lawyer at a good firm in the UK and I took the whole 2024 off for medical reasons (my firm still paid my salary under the income protection scheme and I received great private healthcare through work). In 2025 I returned to work but everyone knew of my situation and didn’t give me any interesting work. My career ambition was pretty much dead but I was still getting paid fairly well and received great private healthcare benefits so didn’t have much to complain about. I have always been very driven (first generation immigrant) and completed an additional qualification during this time.

Now I come to my dilemma. In 2026 I was given a very demanding client and have been working exclusively with them 100% of my time. The client obviously doesn’t know anything about my health history. The client has been giving me glorious feedback and loved me so much that they have recently offered me a job. The pay is much better, the work is exciting and there is talk of career progression. I feel like I’m back to normal again. However, it’s an American company and I feel that they would disregard me the very second I feel sick again. I’m so drawn to this opportunity because I haven’t felt so alive, driven and NORMAL for 2 years. I’m flattered that my wits survived chemo and they want me for the job so much.

But I feel that I should stay where I am and wait. My recurrence could happen literally next year and I would regret moving jobs so much. At the same time, I feel so broken when I understand that my future health concerns may mean that my career is over. Also, I’m planning to try to get pregnant at the end of this year but obviously there is no guarantee that I succeed.

My husband has always been so supportive of my career and my ambition that he’s trying to convince me to take the job but I’m so paralysed.

What should I do?

Newly diagnosed BRCA 29F.. just venting Does anyone else feel this way? I just don’t care about anything anymore…. I want to go live in the woods and be a hermit or something. I am so stressed out about everything thinking about all the hard work I put in and money saved.. and for what? High risk of cancer- is 401k even worth it for me? Will I make it there? I just want to spend all my money and not work. I only want to care about myself & not take care of anyone else… Is this just part of the grief process?? 😢 I feel like… I have no control….

Hi everyone! A few years ago, my paternal aunt let me know that she had found out she has BRCA2, and her genetic counselor recommended that I get screened. My dad passed away when I was young, so there was no way of knowing if he had BRCA2. I was screened, and I found out that I also have BRCA2. We were both shocked to find out because, to the best of our knowledge, we have no family history of breast or ovarian cancers.

I have always been interested in my family history and genealogy, and I have found a lot of comfort in researching my family in relation to BRCA. I know this is very morbid, but I have been searching for my ancestors' death certificates to find ancestors who might have had BRCA2. Has anyone else looked into their family history?

Hi everyone,

I’m looking to connect with folks in the Bay Area who are part of this community. I’d love to stay in touch, share experiences, and support each other locally. If you’re around and interested in connecting, feel free to reach out!

At my last check up with my BRCA doctor, they mentioned that starting at age 50 they'll want to start me on yearly endoscopies, earlier if you have a family history. I think for stomach cancer screening? I wish I asked more questions last time I saw them.

Ever since, I've been doing some research and came across this study. FORCE rates it as pretty solid. It basically says that if you've had an H. Pylori infectiion and have one of the mutations mentioned (brca included), it increases your risk of stomach cancer to 45% by age 85.

Now, the question I have is, should we be testing ourselves for H. Pylori?

You can get test kits on amazon. If its positive, maybe it could be an indication to push up the endoscopy screenings to earlier than age 50

Have yall heard anything about this from your doctors? I dont see mine again until March 2027

The screening MRI was a failure and gave blurred images to the point where they had to reschedule it for next Wednesday. I was still as can be in that machine and yet the simple act of breathing was causing the images to be severely blurry. They think it’s because my shoulders move when I breathe, and I honestly don’t know how to prevent that. They plan on putting sandbags on my back during the next MRI to see if it makes a difference. If not I guess I’m going to have to figure out some other solution for managing this brca1 mutation. It is ludicrous to me that advanced AI imaging (supposedly the most advanced MRI of our time they say) can fail to this level. 🙄
Tips? Advice?

I just found out through Ancestry DNA testing that my father was 50% Ashkenazi.

I’m setting up appointments with a new obgyn and new pcp, and I’m curious which tests and screenings I should make sure I get. I know sometimes you need to advocate for yourself above what the doctor is recommending, and I want to make sure everything with my health is good. Especially since my husband is already battling lung cancer and I need to be around for our kids!!

What’s the gold standard of screening I need to get done? Genetic counseling? BRCA testing? Mammogram, even though I’m current lactating?

Any advice is welcome

Hi again! I’m almost 2 weeks out from breast reconstruction surgery (implants) and this morning I noticed a concave spot at the top of one of my breasts. It looks like something shifted and now there is a 2inx2in indent in my chest. I’m very nervous about this and of course contacted my plastic surgeon right away. While I wait to hear back from them, any encouraging stories from people who have experienced this before? Is this something this might fix itself over time as things settle? Thanks 😊