In the 1950s, my maternal grandmother died of breast cancer when my mom was 16. Knowing this disease was in my lineage made me hyper aware of screening and prevention options, as I always had a sense that it wasn’t “if,” but rather “when” I would be diagnosed myself.

Genetics—it’s a field I had not thought much about prior to my breast cancer diagnosis. I learned the basics in biology class, but that was the extent of it. In hindsight, I wish I had been more curious about my genetic makeup; about the intricate complexity of my DNA. A malignancy alters everything.

In July, 2016, at the ripe old age of 27, I was diagnosed with breast cancer. I first noticed a lump in my breast in early June while I was performing a breast self-examination. Initially, I thought it may have been hormonal changes due to my menstrual cycle, but when the lump did not shrink/go away by the beginning of July, I had it examined. At first, my gynecologist thought the lump was a cyst, but he sent me to get a mammogram anyway because of my family history. Within five days of my first visit, and after a mammogram, ultrasound, and biopsy, I was diagnosed with Stage 1 breast cancer.

Women should know only 5-10% of breast cancers are considered “familial” or resulting from inherited genes. Yet they should also know having a family history of breast cancer is one of the strongest predictors of breast cancer.