Dr. Ordoyne: When my patients come to me, some of their biggest concerns are, “When am I going to develop cancer, or has it developed in me already?” 

Kerry: Between 31 and 32, my anxiety just really started to increase as I was going to the doctor because I knew I was getting closer to the time that my mom had been diagnosed. So, I remember at one point I was waiting for the results of a mammogram, and I mean my I’m sitting there waiting, and the anxiety was just like, and the, the nurse came back in, and everything was fine, but she said, “You know, have you ever thought about getting genetic testing? You know, I can just see your anxiety with this.” 

Dr. Stolier: I can truthfully say that when we began to do genetic testing, it changed everything, We have empowered women to make decisions about their own health, and we’ve empowered them with information.

Lorell: It’s an awful thing to have to face, but here I am, given information. You’ve got a pretty good cancer risk. Well, let me do something about it.

Dr. Stolier: Well, it all comes down to risk. There’s a risk of developing breast cancer, and there’s actually a risk of dying from breast cancer. And I think that any woman who has tested positive for one of the gene mutations is concerned about these; both of them. 

Dr. Ordoyne: The biggest reason for talking to your physician about having a prophylactic mastectomy is it’s better to treat your disease prior to getting it rather than to wait till you have cancer and then treating it at that time. 

Dr. Stolier: Prevention is everything; it’s everything. So, if we look at all the options that we have in front of us, risk reduction surgery reduces a woman’s risk of developing breast cancer and subsequently dying potentially from that breast cancer by 90%, and that’s probably as good as we have at the moment.

Dr. DellaCroce: To deliver the highest quality at the end of the day, it requires, it demands a team of experts who collaborate and work together because the outcome, both in terms of the risk reduction and the ultimate result in terms of the restoration of wholeness, comes with that first incision. 

Dr. Ordoyne: By working with the plastic surgeons, we can have a more customized approach in developing techniques of restoring the breasts to its natural state. And that way, I can do my mastectomies through incisions that will be more pleasing cosmetically. 

Dr. Stolier: What we try to do is to try to help women feel better about themselves, feel better about their body image, and overall have a better quality of life.