Amy Hunter

Supporter

When I was 12, my mother was diagnosed with ovarian cancer and she passed away 3 years later.  Four years later, my father remarried a truly wonderful woman, and 4 months after their wedding, her daughter was diagnosed with breast cancer. She battled for 4.5 years before the cancer took her as well. Now, nine years after the loss of her daughter, my stepmother has been diagnosed with ovarian cancer. While I watch her go through chemo and surgery and we all struggle to maintain hope, I am waging my own war against my insurance company, who has decided to stop paying for my breast screenings. I am BRCA1 positive – I have an 87% chance of getting breast cancer and a 40% chance of getting ovarian cancer. When I discovered I was BRCA1 positive 5 years ago, I decided that knowledge was power because it meant I could get my screenings paid for by insurance, and I would be able to catch any cancer before it would kill me. I need to fight this battle because it’s not fair that I gamble my life when screenings aren’t in the budget. I need to fight this battle so I can stay healthy. I need to fight this battle now so my daughters and granddaughters won’t have to. I am only 33 years old, and I have watched so many people I love lose their lives. I will not die from the cancers that have taken my family members.