I'm an 82yr old male. I lost my wife to ovarian cancer back in 1986. It subsequently turned out that she had the BRC2 gene inherited from her father. During our time together, we had 3 children, 2 girls and a boy. When my two girls reached maturity, at the time the BRC2 gene had not yet been isolated but aware of her father's family's history in developing ovarian cancer (my wife's aunt on her father's side side had died of the same cancer), I advised both girls to have any children they planned for before reaching 35 and have a hysterectomy thereafter to reduce the chance sharing the same fate as their mother. However, being headstrong teenagers, they took little notice of my advice and subsequently, 18months ago, my older daughter was diagnosed with ovarian cancer. It was only at this juncture that they were both tested for having the BRC2 gene and it transpired that they were both carriers. Unfortunately it was too late for my older daughter to do anything about it but my younger daughter, some 4 years younger, who already has the two children she and partner had planned for has had her ovaries removed. My 21yr old grand-daughter fortunately is not a carrier.
Following the operation, it transpired that the cancer had reached the stage 2 of the disease, so a shortened life span is seemingly inevitable, however, she is responding well to treatment and manages to carry on a normal life, but needless to say, I live daily with the knowledge that should I live on for a few more years, I will be burying my daughter. This is the awful and extremely painful burden I have to bear. I just desperately hope that death visits me sooner than my daughter. No parent should have to bury their own child
