One year ago today I followed through with a very big decision. It’s weird because even though it was a huge huge decision, at the same time it was very simple. I had a prophylactic double mastectomy. In case you don’t know, that is an elective operation to remove the breasts so that the risk of breast cancer is reduced. My mother was diagnosed with breast cancer when I was 10. She was only 34 years old. She underwent several surgeries including a double mastectomy and reconstruction. After all her treatments she was declared cancer free. 14 years later, she had a recurrence in her lung. It spread from there to her bones and her liver. That cancer stole her from us 3 years ago. She was much too young and it has been tragically heartbreaking for my family and I.