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Profiles in Courage: Tracy Milgram-Posner

Residence: Coconut Creek

Occupation:ย Owner, UnBRCAble Boutique

Age: 35

Diagnosed: January 2004, age 21, as BRCA2-positive

Treated at: Broward Health Imperial Point, Fort Lauderdale

The Discovery

โ€œMy aunt passed away at 30 of breast cancer, so we knew we had to do checks early. In my first self-breast exam [at 18], I found a lump. The gynecologist sent me to a breast surgeon. We did a biopsy; it was benign. A year later, I did a biopsy on the other side and it was benign. I had a mammogram and an ultrasound or an MRI every six months.

โ€œAt 21, I was doing another self-exam, and I found a bump. I was like, โ€˜Iโ€™m not doing another biopsy. I want to know what weโ€™re going to do.โ€™ โ€ฆย  [My doctor] said, โ€˜Why hesitate to do [genetic] testing? Just get your answers.โ€™ I didnโ€™t want the unknown anymore. If I had the gene, then I knew what I had to do whether it took time to accept or not.

โ€œDid I know how much stress it was going to put on my life when it came back positive [for BRCA2]? No. At the same time, I looked at it on the flip side. In life, youโ€™re thrown a lot of obstacles, but I could save my life.โ€

The Treatment

โ€œMy goal, once I had a second child in 2012, was to have surgery. โ€ฆ The first surgery was a hysterectomy [in June 2015], so I no longer had a chance for ovarian cancer. Six months later, I had a prophylactic bilateral mastectomy with reconstruction. I was in and out of the hospital for two weeks because I needed an IV and antibiotics due to an infection.

โ€œMy body rejected one of the expanders six weeks after the surgery, so I had to go back in and have a saline expander. [Editorโ€™s note: Milgram-Posner was part of a clinical trial for expanders called airXpanders.]

โ€œAfter the surgery for the saline expander, I walked around flat-chested on one side for [several] months. I had drains. … I had to push myself through it. I [ended up being] out of work for six months.

โ€œI couldnโ€™t move my left arm. I had a lot of nerve damage, so I had to get some nerve blockers and physical therapy because the pain was pretty intense. Then, my incisions got infected, so I had to have home nurses check on me. That was February 2016. I had my reconstruction in August 2016.โ€

The Journey

โ€ข โ€œ[Being] flat chested on one side for [several] monthsโ€”that killed my self-image. I had to stuff my shirt if I wanted to go out. But now, looking down and saying Iโ€™m beautifulโ€”I accept that more. Before, I never told myself I was beautiful. I never took care of my self-image. Iโ€™d walk with my head down because I had so much weight on my shoulders.โ€

โ€ข โ€œWhat I thought was going to be my last phase [of reconstruction] was not. And telling [my daughter] that was heart-wrenching. She didnโ€™t understand why this was happening to me and only wanted me back to meโ€”the sports mom. She stood by my side and helped me get up, rubbed oils on me, made sure that my hair was done. I tried to perk up as much as I could.โ€

โ€ข โ€œ[After] my last surgery, I come home and [my daughter] says, โ€˜Youโ€™re like a butterfly. You transformed.โ€™ Four stages, four surgeries. It was interesting how she put it all together in the perspective of a life cycle.โ€

โ€ข โ€œJust looking at my two kids every day, it was an honor to know that this was why I did it. They gave me the push to go through it every day because it wasnโ€™t easy to swallow.โ€

โ€ข โ€œI started [a private Facebook group named BRCAStrong] right before my hysterectomy. Every day, I would post. Nobody could have access unless we approved them, so we could share pictures, positive reinforcements and inspiring quotes. It kept growing. And then I got involved with some other nonprofits. I was like, โ€˜I need to do this myself.โ€™โ€

โ€ข โ€œYou see nonprofits that are great when youโ€™re diagnosed and going through your journey. But what happens when youโ€™re done? Where do you go for bras? Do you know you canโ€™t wear underwire? Do you know there are post-mastectomy bras, prosthetics, tube drain holders? Who offers that? We want to make you feel comfortable in your body, feel full again. Thatโ€™s what I want to be able to provideโ€”and thatโ€™s really why I [founded the nonprofit organization, BRCAStrong].โ€

The Lessons

โ€ข โ€œOne person told me that you canโ€™t empower others until you empower yourself. If you want to stand up there and educate somebody, how are you going to do that if you donโ€™t like what you physically are?โ€

โ€ข โ€œIโ€™m a single mom of two. Iโ€™m a business owner. I have a nonprofit. I had to remind myself of all the positives and the differences that Iโ€™ve made in some of these womenโ€™s lives [through the Facebook group and the nonprofitโ€™s events]. Going online and seeing people using #BRCAstrong and #unBRCAbleโ€”to know that is my self-worth.โ€

โ€ข โ€œI didnโ€™t think I had the courage, strength and audacity to do what I did. โ€ฆ Iโ€™ve learned that Iโ€™m stronger than I thought I was.โ€

โ€ข โ€œThe words โ€˜previve, inspire and thriveโ€™ are on my [BRCAStrong] logo. Three words of inspiration from my heart to yours. โ€ฆ I want to inspire as many women as I can.โ€

[Editorโ€™s note: BRCA2, according to the National Cancer Institute, is defined as a โ€œgene on chromosome 13 that normally helps to suppress cell growth; a person who inherits certain mutations in a BRCA2 gene has a higher risk of getting breast, ovarian … and other types of cancer.โ€]

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