Most 21-year-olds are busy planning their birthday parties, studying or saving for a European summer holiday, not recovering from life-changing surgery.
But Australian model Lilly Chugg, now 22, from Newcastle, received the shock of her life almost two years ago when tests revealed she had the BRCA gene in her family, a discovery she made after her mother’s first cousin died from breast cancer.
The risks of developing breast and ovarian cancer are dramatically increased in those who inherit a harmful change in BRCA1 or BRCA2 genes.
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The traumatic death of a close family member prompted Lilly’s mother Nicole to get a genetic test to see if she had the BRCA gene sequence, which she did, and Lilly shortly followed.
When Lilly discovered she had also tested positive for the gene her initial reaction was “pure shock”.
“My sister had also tested positive years earlier, so the fact my sister, mum and I all have this gene is very shocking. My heart sank finding out, I was very grateful I had my beautiful fiancé and parents in the room with me,” Lilly tells 7Life.
After discovering the shocking news Lilly had two options to consider: She could either undergo a double mastectomy and breast reconstruction or have yearly checkups.
“For me it was a no-brainer to get a double mastectomy and reconstruction, as I didn’t want to have that fear of every year thinking what if this is the year I find out I have breast cancer,” Lilly said.
“I was extremely anxious going into my surgery as there are plenty of things that could go wrong.”
Lilly described her recovery post-surgery as “fairly intense” particularly for the first three weeks.
“After the fifth week I was able to get back into my daily routine, slowly but surely. You have drains for the first one to two weeks, which were very intense,” she said.
“It was a huge mental challenge for me to have so much time off out of my routine as I’m such an active person, being bed bound was so draining mentally.”
It’s been 18 months since Lilly underwent the life-altering surgery and she can now say she feels “genuinely so happy and proud of her decision”.
“I have no regrets at all, it’s such a relief knowing I have eliminated this risk,” she said.
Lilly still has to book in and see her surgeon annually just to make sure everything is as it should be.
Lilly’s stressed the importance of doing your family research so if someone in your close-knit circle has been affected by breast cancer you can get tested.
“A lot of people don’t even realise you can get tested for it,” she said.
For those presented with the same dilemma as Lilly who are considering surgery as an option, she advises not to be discouraged by the fear of the unknown.
“Remember that it’s your body and your decision,” she said.
While Lilly was initially encouraged to wait until she was older she was hesitant.
“I thought to myself why would I want to wait and what if I was the unlucky one to develop breast cancer and it would be too late? Always listen to your gut.”
