October is Breast Cancer Awareness month so I thought I would share some of the stories of some of the incredible women who I was lucky enough to shoot for Anita Lingerie UK again a while back.

My wonderful client Jemma, from Anita, got in touch with me and told me that they had teamed up with the National Hereditary Breast Cancer Helpline. They wanted to showcase the stories of 12 incredible women who have faced hereditary breast cancer gene choices and create portraits of each one that would sit alongside their stories. The project aimed to help inspire other women who may be going through similar stories as well as raise some awareness at the same time.

Without a second thought I said ‘Yes!’ and plans were put in place to produce the 3-day shoot that would take place at the Anita factory out in Germany. I’m not going to talk too much about the shoot as these women and their stories are far more important. All of the featured stories were heart-rending. Seeing how all of the ladies had faced the consequences of their family histories of breast cancer was hugely inspiring. All of the women are brave and powerful and they rocked it in front of the camera. I was so pleased to be a part of such an inspiring project.

Here are a few of these incredible ladies stories in their own words…

Wendy Watson - Found of The National Hereditary Breast Cancer Helpline

‘My name is Wendy Watson and I am thought to be the first person in the UK to have undergone a risk reducing double mastectomy.

In 1971 my mother died of breast cancer in her mid 40’s. My grandmother had had breast cancer in both breasts although she actually went on to die of ovarian cancer, so suspecting a hereditary link I approached my GP. He rebuffed my suggestion and sent me away.

Years later after moving away I explored my extended family history to see whether there had been any other occurrences. I found nine members of my family who had developed breast cancer and my new GP then referred me to Dr. Gareth Evans from a Manchester hospital who was exploring the possibilities of a hereditary gene that caused breast cancer. He agreed to take me on as a case study as so many in my family had developed the condition and he also agreed that preventative breast surgery was sensible course of action. I also had a full hysterectomy a few weeks later on discovering that the gene that affects breast cancer also affects the ovaries. The relief I felt afterwards was enormous, although it took some time to later discover that the faulty gene I carried was BRCA 1.

Realising that awareness needed to be raised among the community but also among GPs, I started campaigning and fundraising and in 1996 filmed a documentary called ‘Living in the Shadow’ about the gene fault. Afterwards things started to move quickly and I held an awareness week for hereditary breast cancer, which was backed by Princess Diana and the rate of referrals went mad following the events success.

Later that year I met Baroness Cumberlege and she agreed to specialist commissioning for Genetic services which meant they would be funded centrally and women only needed a referral from their GP. She also asked me to set up the helpline for women who were struggling to find out how they can get tested.

The rest is history, however it was difficult discovering that my daughter Becky had inherited the faulty BRCA gene as well. She underwent a double mastectomy at the age of 24 after her cousin developed breast cancer in her early 20’s. The message that we want to get out to everyone is that breast cancer can be hereditary with large family histories and it can be passed on through both the male and female line. The current known statistics are below:

1 in 200 people carry a fault in a high risk gene that predisposes them to an 85% chance of developing breast, ovarian or prostate cancer.

‘Make one person aware!’

Sarah Hale

‘My name is Sarah hale and I am 34 years old. I am married with two young children aged 2 and 4.

I consider myself a BRCA success story and want to share my experience with anyone else newly diagnosed. I found out that I had inherited the mutated BRCA2 gene from my father, shortly before the birth of my second child. My Grandmother had died of breast cancer in her 40’s, and I was also aware of a prevalence of breast, prostate and skin cancer within my extended paternal family. After requesting a mammogram in 2014, the GP raised the possibility of a faulty BRCA gene within the family.

My GP referred us to the Genetic Counselling Team in Edinburgh who, after examining my family history, agreed that we were at risk and decided to test my Dad first as he was the paternal carrier. My father tested positive for the family BRCA2 gene, which was found by comparing his sample to the mapping of my cousin who had recently died of breast cancer. My cousin had also held the faulty BRCA2 gene and was the trailblazer for our family in discovering more about the gene. The following year my brother and I both tested positive for the faulty BRCA2 gene.

As I was about to have my son, I waited until he was born and I had breastfed him for 6 months, I then felt ready to proceed with a preventative double mastectomy and reconstruction. I had my surgery just before his first birthday at Weston General in Edinburgh and the whole experience was extremely positive with staff and surgeon being wholly supportive throughout.

I found the NHBCH page on Facebook and joined the group which was immensely helpful through the early days. It was good to talk to other women who had been or were going through the surgery and I remain an active part of the group still. Knowing other women who had survived and gone on to be happy, healthy and strong after their surgery really encouraged me and gave me strength.

Although there were obviously difficult times on the journey, I have been able to remain positive throughout. I feel empowered and happy since my surgery, and am delighted with my reconstruction and don’t feel that it holds me back in any way from feeling confident or good about myself. My message to anyone newly diagnosed is this; “The diagnosis is not a death sentence, it is a gift of life. We are lucky to be empowered by knowledge and able to make decisions that enable us to be here for our children and family into the future. We can be beautiful, whole and happy no matter what our journey.”

Louise Franklin

‘I am a 29-year-old accountant from a small town in East Sussex. I found out that I had the BRCA1 gene when I was 21 years old, shortly after my mother was diagnosed with breast cancer. Her mother had died from ovarian cancer in her early 40’s so when my mother found out she had breast cancer at 47 she was referred for genetic testing.

When I was 24 I decided that I wanted to undertake preventative measures and was referred to Guys and St Thomas in London to start my journey of a double mastectomy and reconstruction. The plan was supposed to be breast reduction, followed by preventative bilateral mastectomy and reconstruction with implants. After my reduction, my surgeon suggested DIEP might give me a better result so I opted for this. My reconstruction did not go to plan and over the past few years I’ve had various operations/procedures to try and correct a failed DIEP (one side failed). I now have an implant on one side and DIEP the other.

I met my fiancé Tom following my failed DIEP operation and he has been a massive support through a further three operations. We are currently planning our wedding which is keeping us busy. After our wedding, we plan on starting a family via IVF and PGD at Guys Hospital in London. Tom also has a hereditary condition that we have agreed to test for (polycystic kidney disease).

I decided to do the photoshoot to show that even if things do go wrong (like they did for me) there are still other reconstruction methods available and a reasonable result can still be achieved. My mum had found a lot of comfort through the helpline and likewise, it was invaluable to me as I was able to look at before and after pic from other women who had already undergone different types of surgery. It was reassuring to know that others had walked this path and gone on to be healthy and happy afterwards.

Knowledge is power, there’s so much support and information out there and you shouldn’t be afraid of finding out. I hope that the male members of the family will see this journal and change their minds about being tested as the gene can be passed along through the male line as well.’

Yvonne Howells

‘My name is Yvonne Howells and I am 60 years old. I have just retired from my busy role as an intensive care nurse working for the NHS and am having a great time with my husband riding our Honda Shadow motorbike across the beautiful countryside of Cornwall where we live.

Six years ago I had a preventative double mastectomy after finding out that I had inherited the BRCA2 gene from my mother who died in 1973 from breast cancer when I was just 14 years old.

At the time there was no other family history of cancer and we didn’t know about the risks of hereditary breast cancer. Early in the 2000’s my aunt tested positive for the BRCA2 gene after she was diagnosed with ovarian cancer. Subsequently, my cousin and I also tested positive for the gene and I went for some genetic counselling to discuss my options.

Initially, I was determined not to have surgery, thinking it was too extreme an option, but after realising that my risk of developing breast or ovarian cancer was an incredible 85% I felt that it was the only sensible option. I had my ovaries removed first in October 2010 and February of 2011 I had a double mastectomy with implants.

On diagnosis, I googled the BRCA gene and came across the helpline which proved to be very comforting and reassuring during my surgical journey. To meet and discuss the issue with other women who were going through the same thing was very helpful and I became close friends with Wendy the helpline founder. At the time in Cornwall, there were not many women who had undergone this procedure although awareness is growing and for some time after my operations, the Royal Cornwall Hospital started sending women who had been recently diagnosed to see me for counselling and support which it was my privilege to offer.

More recently my daughter has also been diagnosed with the faulty gene and her surgery is planned for later this year. We are so grateful that we have been able to get this information in time to give us choices and the chance to take actions to reduce our risk.

Now that I am retired I plan to get more involved with the helpline and would love to reassure and support other women who are just starting this journey and may have questions. My reason for doing the photo-shoot was to help raise awareness of the support that is out there for women with hereditary gene mutations and to show them that they don’t need to be afraid. The scary thing is not knowing.’

I don’t want to say anymore. I think that these women’s stories say so much more than I ever could. I was so proud to be a part of something so special and inspired by each of the women and the stories they so openly shared. Hopefully, the stories that these women have shared raise awareness in some way and give strength and courage to others who may be going through similar things.

If this post has resonated with you in anyway please share it and ‘Make one person aware!’

Keep your head up whatever you’re going through!