Megan's Race for Life

Cancer has taken too many good people from this world and will continue to do so unless we do something. As many of you will know cancer has effected me and my family's life for so many years and will probably continue to affect us in years to come. In 2002 at the age of just 42, my dad lost his battle with cancer. I was just 5 years old when he passed away and I have never truly recovered from this loss. Since then his two sisters, my aunties have been diagnosed with breast cancer twice and have had to undergo treatment and surgeries because of this. Thankfully, both of them have successfully battled this horrific illness and are still with us today. Two of my uncles on my mum's side on the family have battled cancer in the past and are luckily still with us today however, with recent news in the last few months yet another one of her brothers has been diagnosed with cancer and we hope that he will have a success story too. My Uncle Chris on my mums side of the family was sadly diagnosed with cancer recently too and unfortunately this is terminal. Chris, I will always have you in my heart but on the day of the race I will be doing this for you! After being diagnosed for the second time my aunties underwent a gene test to find out if our family has the potential of carrying the BRCA gene which is passed down through generations. To have this testing available to us now is something great that cancer research has helped so much towards providing for the world. With this testing more people have a chance of discovering cancer sooner if it runs within their family. We now know that both of my aunties on my dads side of the family carry the BRCA2 gene. With this in mind I am currently waiting for my own gene test to determine if this has been passed down through my dad also. If it has then it is likely that me and my siblings will have to think about our futures sooner and consider having potential prevention surgeries such as double mastectomies and hysterectomies to reduce our risk of cancer. Having the BRCA2 gene means I have a 60-90% risk of developing breast cancer and a 40-60% risk of developing ovarian cancer. For me, at the age of 21 it is a very scary thought to think that I will not only have such a high chance of developing cancer but if I decide to undergo the surgeries to reduce my risk (up to 90% reduction) then my future of having a family will be limited. If we continue to help cancer research find ways of beating cancer I hope that one day people will not have to suffer the devastating loss of a loved one, the battle of cancer for themselves or others around them. One day we will beat cancer. Every donation will not only be appreciated by me but every single person that goes through cancer either themselves or with a loved one. Lets Beat Cancer. This is for you Dad, Auntie Sharon and my Uncle's currently fighting. This is also for all BRCA gene holders and cancer fighters. Thank you! Megan x