Charlotte was not much older than her sixth grade students when her mother died of breast cancer. Her Aunt and Grandmother have also died of breast cancer at very young ages. With that family history the doctors started watching Charlotte very closely. A few months ago another aunt tested positive for the BRCA2 gene mutation. Charlotte’s doctors recommended that Charlotte also be tested for the gene. When she tested positive they recommended a mastectomy and oopherectomy (Removal of the ovaries.) Charlotte decided that she needed to do everything possible to raise her chances of living to raise her children. It broke her heart to leave her students, but she felt strongly that the surgeries needed to be done now and not wait until summer. On November 28th she had her first surgery. On Dec 12th the doctors called with the pathology report. As a precaution they had sent the tissue away to be analyzed for any possibility of cancer. Unfortunately the lab found a tumor. They also found a lot of pre-cancer cells. The cancer they found is estrogen positive. (Estrogen stimulates the cancer growth.)
Charlotte is now scheduled to have her second surgery on Dec. 20th. She will start Chemo Therapy 4 weeks after her surgery.
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