Second Day Home

ARCHIVAL DIGITAL PRINT, 40X20, 2005-2007

In 2003, my mother’s younger cousin was diagnosed with ovarian cancer and genetic testing proved she had inherited a mutated gene called BRCA1. My mother chose to undergo genetic counseling and tested positive for the BRCA1 gene mutation. In her mid-30’s before such testing was available she made the then unorthodox decision to have her ovaries removed after her own mother died of ovarian cancer. She learned that BRCA1, also known as the breast cancer gene, not only carried a high risk of ovarian cancer but increased her chances of developing breast cancer by 85% – almost seven times the normal rate. Having watched breast and ovarian cancer devastate the women in her family, in May of 2004 with the guidance of her genetic counselors and physicians my mother decided to have a prophylactic double mastectomy. The surgery increases her chances of preventing the disease by 90%, so far, she’s cancer free. This series follows her journey of hope and that of my own as I reflect on the past while preparing for a future. She takes my place in these images, for she has the wisdom I seek.