Tuesday June 24th at 7:30pm on ABC1
Tonight on 7.30 – a deeply personal story about a courageous young woman facing an agonising choice which could save her life.
Twenty five year old ABC Brisbane reporter Elise Worthington carries the gene mutation which dramatically increases her chances of getting breast or ovarian cancer.
These cancers have stalked her family for generations – her mum is currently undergoing chemotherapy for ovarian cancer.
Elise has two options – undergo constant medical surveillance and live with the ongoing fear of getting cancer, or have a preventative double mastectomy.
The doctors can’t tell Elise if she’ll definitely get cancer. All she can go on are the statistics.
Genetic specialist Dr Michael Gattas tells Elise: “We usually quote a lifetime cumulative risk, which means your chance of developing a cancer some time before you turn 80, so for the BRCA 1 and the BRCA 2 mutation carriers that’s about 60-80% risk of developing breast cancer and for ovarian cancer the chance of developing ovarian cancer would be 30- 40%.”
Angelina Jolie recently revealed her BRCA1 status and subsequent decision to have a prophylactic double mastectomy.
Elise Worthington is sharing her story on 7.30 to help other women struggling with the dilemma of whether to have their breasts removed, in a bid to save their lives.
Elise tells 7.30: “I still might never get cancer, I know that, but just to know that I can do something to change that is really nice, I’m so lucky. I just hope that I’m the last person to have to go through this in my family.
You can see the full story on 7.30 on ABC1 tonight.
