BRCA My Story

If you have arrived here, then you are probably interested in two things:

1) What is BRCA anyway?

2) My connection to this story

What is BRCA?

(Those who find it too heavy can skip straight to my story)

Each person has a genetic code that makes him up and allows him to grow and develop properly

The genetic code consists of genes, where each person has two copies of each gene, one gene from each parent.

Since each parent has a chance of passing on only half of their genes to their child, each parent with a genetic defect can pass on a 50% chance of having the defect to their child.

BRCA- is a general name for a gene that increases the chance of breast cancer

There are two main genes that are known about BRCA1, BRCA2 and despite their name and maybe some of you don't know but their function is exactly the opposite.. They have a significant role in preventing breast cancer.

They help repair broken parts of the genetic code that can lead to cancer and uncontrolled tumors. These genes are tumor suppressors.

Sometimes in certain people these genes don't work as they should, which causes a mutation in the gene.

A small part of the people 0.25% of the general population, the "lucky one" is a carrier of mutations in these genes and I am among them, therefore as soon as there is a mutation the possibility of correcting the broken code decreases greatly and there is an increased risk of developing breast and ovarian cancer.

What is the risk?

One in eight women, 12% will be diagnosed with breast cancer during her lifetime without the defective gene

But.. those who carry the defective gene have an increased risk. 55%-65% risk of getting breast cancer with the BRCA1 gene before the age of 70

And those who have the b mutation have a 45% risk of getting breast cancer. BRCA2

For those who want to know more details about the gene detection test (now in the basket)

And looking for support, I recommend Karin Aharon's wonderful group - Ganim Tovim

This group supports women who are carriers from the moment of discovery and also women who have become ill, it does great lectures and activities to help women and that's why I decided that part of the site's income will be transferred to them, to support women with the "genetic blessing"

Additional learning about the garden can also be found at Sheba

My story

My affair with the garden begins at the age of 29, I was single and started a great job choosing medicines, I spent time in Tel Aviv and had a really normal life and normal problems like everyone else.

You could say that my life was honey until the age of 29, no one in my immediate family got sick or died of cancer, it seems like something that belongs to other families

One day I received a call from my older sister (age 37) that she discovered a lump in her breast and it was cancerous, from there my life ran on a fast track.

I remember I didn't take it seriously, I said it's not bad, she's young, she discovered it relatively early, there are good treatments and I work for one of the best companies in the world in the field of breast cancer, it will be fine.

Then we got to Prof. Eitan Friedman who said that my sister is very young and it seems to him like something genetic, we straight up said that there can't be anyone in the family who hasn't had breast cancer since my sister, so how can that be?

We started testing and found out that I, my father and my father's sister also carry this gene and we were just apparently lucky... Then one day the luck ran out and he met my sister, she ate healthy, didn't smoke, didn't drink, breastfed until the age of two and .. everything by the book.. everything.

After the examination, my sister began a journey of tests and pretty quickly it was decided on the type of chemotherapy she would undergo and me? I had to make some quick decisions, one of which was enough to waste precious time, as soon as I realized that it was genetic and temporary with my female organs (breast, ovaries) cut off, I offered my partner to run away or stay and get married and then straight away pregnancy and children... I don't know to this day What made him say yes to me (probably we will be charmed 🥰), despite the genetics, despite the threatening deadline and my requests for children and quickly, but he stayed.

We organized my wedding while my sister was undergoing treatments and surgeries with the calculation that she would already be through everything until the wedding and could celebrate with us. As you have already understood, I was not blessed with a lot of patience, I was pregnant with my first and three months after the wedding I already gave birth to my first son. There is no doubt that it was a happy wedding, a bit of a feeling that everything is behind us and maybe we can breathe a little easier.

We took a breather... I gave birth and after six months I returned to work at the pharmaceutical company hoping that everything is behind us. I remember that I flew to Eilat for a 3-day company cycle and on Sunday when I arrived I received a call from my sister, it came back... they found metastasis in the brain and needed to be operated on quickly. I also returned on a quick flight straight back to the hospital to hope that the operation would end safely. Not long after the surgery, metastases were discovered in other places in the body and I already thought that Sof Tov would not be here... My sister with 2 stunning little girls will no longer get to raise them and me? My life will never be the same... life as I knew it has changed.

I knew that if until now I was in fast gear, now I am on speedos.. I got pregnant again and unfortunately on the fifth month my sister passed away, the damn gene defeated her after less than two years. I gave birth to my second son in the saddest year of my life and truly he was an amazing baby, born quietly and with a smile.

Now I knew that my garden does not wait for anyone and my late sister paved the way for me and I must take my life with both hands. As soon as my son was one year old, the day after his birthday, I removed the breast

But of course that's not all!!

This garden too. can cause ovarian cancer and from which there is almost no cure at all, so when I gave birth to my third son I also removed these parts from me. Everything should be here for my children.

Today I am 43 years old, happily married and I have 3 charming sons and 2 stunning nieces (my sister's daughters) and until I founded the soap business, I didn't really sit down to write my story. I am really happy that now beyond your and my enjoyment of using my soaps, I can Also to help other pregnant women who are going through and will go through processes similar to mine.

P.S. Thanks to my dear husband, Guy, thanks to whom I even started with the soaps, but that's another story for my blog