A pair of twin sisters underwent double mastectomies after discovering they carry a gene that dramatically increases their chances of developing breast cancer.
Sisters Carissa and Cailyn Wulf tested positive for a mutation in the BRCA 1 gene, meaning they had a 60 to 80 percent chance of developing breast cancer, compared to just a 12 percent risk for general population.
The twins were asked to get tested after their mother, Heather Asche Wulf, found out she had the gene and developed breast cancer in 2019.
Heather died in 2022 at age 48 after cancer spread to her lymph nodes, brain and lungs.
Before she died, Heather urged her daughters to take action before they too suffered from breast cancer.
Cailyn, now 25, said: “My mom told me, ‘Don’t wait.’ She said, ‘Please do this.’
To honor their mother’s dying wish, Carissa and Cailyn decided to reduce their risk of developing the disease and undergo a double mastectomy, a major surgery that involves the removal of both breasts, in February 2024.
carissa said People: “She wanted us to do it because she didn’t want us to go through what she went through.”
Cailyn added, “Honestly, I was crying last night. But I just knew it was for the best.”
Carissa and Cailyn Wulf, 25, underwent double mastectomies after their mother died of breast cancer.
A recent study in JAMA found that breast cancer rates increased about 0.79 percent each year during the study from 2000 to 2019.
According to the American Cancer Society, an estimated 310,000 women in the United States will be diagnosed with breast cancer this year. And around 42,000 are expected to die.
Recent research suggests that BRCA 1 or BRCA 2 gene mutations increase cancer risk by up to 84 percent.
Normally, these genes suppress tumors and repair damaged DNA in cells, but mutations cause cells to grow abnormally, making them more likely to develop into cancer.
The BRCA 1 gene was made famous by Angelina Jolie, who underwent a preventative double mastectomy after testing positive in 2013.
Six percent of all women with breast cancer carry mutations in the BRCA gene.
However, removing breast tissue through a mastectomy can reduce the risk of breast cancer by up to 90 percent.
Earlier this year, despite living 1,000 miles apart in Utah and Iowa, the twins traveled to the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota, where their mother was treated, for her procedures, which took place two days apart. .
carissa said People: ‘We were very scared.
“If I hadn’t had someone there going through the same thing, it would have been a lot harder.”
They opted for double nipple-sparing mastectomies, which keep the healthier skin of the breasts intact, along with the nipple and areola, the pigmented area surrounding the nipple.
According to Cedars-Sinai, this method is only used for patients undergoing breast reconstruction immediately after a mastectomy.
Both twins then underwent reconstructive surgeries within hours of each other on August 23.
The twins posted on TikTok, as shown above, about the reconstructive surgeries they underwent after their mastectomies. They said they know their mother is “happy we did it.”
Carissa said she and her sister feel comfortable knowing they fulfilled their mother’s last wish.
She said: ‘I know he’s smiling. “She’s happy we made it.”
The twins also plan to have their ovaries removed after having children, as BRCA 1 also increases the risk of developing ovarian cancer.
They will also undergo regular screening for breast cancer.
Dr. Mara Pilton, an assistant professor of breast and melanoma surgical oncology at the Mayo Clinic who treated the women, told People: “I think Cailyn and Carissa ultimately made a fantastic decision that was right for them, but it’s never a decision. easy”. do.
“I felt pretty brave.”
The sisters are urging other young women with a family history of breast cancer to get tested for BRCA genes.
BRCA mutations are thought to be passed from parents to children. According to the CDC, a child has a 50 percent chance of inheriting this mutation if their mother or father has it.
This risk decreases by half with each step further away from immediate family. This means that siblings have a 50 percent chance of having the mutation, while more distant relatives, such as aunts and uncles, are less likely to inherit it.
BRCA mutations do not skip generations, so if a family member has confirmed a negative test, their children do not need to be tested.
Carissa said: ‘Don’t be afraid. I feel like some young people may be very scared like us.
“That test could save your life.”