Hi, friends. I’m back :)
In the small chance someone is still actually subscribed from years ago and will receive a “The Molly Effect has a new post!” email in their inbox today, you’re probably wondering what’s up. And if you’re seeing this from me on social media and wondering “Oh gosh, what is she writing now?” I promise to make this first one brief (yeah, right - we know I’m not good at that).
I’m still navigating the world of young women at high-risk for cancers due to BRCA mutations. Ten years ago I was focused on breast cancer prevention and most recently I’ve taken more of a personal focus on ovarian cancer prevention.
Six weeks ago I had preventative surgery to greatly decrease my risk of ovarian cancer. It’s something I’ve been planning for years, but a major surgery nonetheless. I’ve spent the last month and a half resting, recovering and figuring out how to manage surgical menopause. I have so much to say and stories to tell and really, that is the point to bringing all of this back.
Scientifically, the odds have never been in my favor. Having the BRCA1 mutation means your risks are higher and the outlook scarier. What I have always worked to do and what still remains true is that I believe the knowledge of this mutation can save lives. Using knowledge as power, as scary as it may be, can be what changes the outlook and increases the odds of a healthy, long life. One longer than my dad was able to live, and one long enough for me to watch my boys grow older. Sharing this sentiment has always been my purpose.
Ten years ago I had my preventative double mastectomy in a time where not many young women like me talked about it. I set out to share my story and help others by being brave enough to open myself to criticism and comments, if only to connect with one person. In the end, I made strong, lasting connections that empower me still.
So for those who may have lost touch since my beginning blogging days or are new to my novel-like posts, a quick life update. What’s changed since the last post in 2016? Most notably, our two boys! Our son Rory Scott was born in 2017 and is now in kindergarten and obsessed with all things sports. This morning he woke up at 6:40 a.m. and told us which teams were ranked top in the Big 12. I don’t even know what teams are in the Big 12. It’s fun learning “sports” through his eyes. Our son Peter Robert was born in 2020, right before the pandemic, and is in his first year of preschool. He has bright red hair and a smile that lights any room, and says every thought that comes to his mind - both a blessing and a curse depending on who’s in ear’s distance. Both are the quintessential “boys,” spending most of their waking hours running us in circles. Being a mom is the most exhausting, gratifying role I play these days.
There have been many more changes in the years since I’ve been active on here. And maybe I’ll put them into words one day. But what’s equally as important is what has stayed the same.
If you were once an avid reader of this blog (LOL, let me allow myself to believe that anyone was an avid reader of mine), I used to rave about all the ways Kevin and I would YOLO. The YOLOing looks different these days, but I’d like to believe we still maintain that young identity in our hearts. Saturday bar hopping has turned into kid-friendly neighborhood breweries and Netflix shows or speed-reading novels after bedtime, but still YOLOing just the same.
So I guess this is my long-winded explanation of why today and why now I come back to this blog. I’ve always found peace in writing - in sharing my thoughts in words and releasing them out into this universe. I’ve found myself searching and Googling constantly this time around, trying to find anyone out there in my position, in my stage of life, going through this type of recovery process, and have had no success. The marketer in me has an urge to tag the heck out of this page, use all the right key terms and become my own SEO expert so that the next person like me can find my story and not feel so alone. Marketing aside, maybe if I’m brave enough to share my story, others will do the same. If there’s one thing I’ve learned over these years, it’s the strength in numbers and power of community that means the most. If it doesn’t already exist, maybe I can help create it.
I don’t have all the answers. Or really any of them yet. But maybe I will eventually. Maybe I will meet people who do, or are also working to find them. And then maybe I can feel as if by sharing my story, I have helped one person, as I began to do 10 years ago when I started this journey.
I’ll get to more of that later, but for now, as if to exhale one last time before I ditch the novels and Netflix in exchange for my laptop and first day back to work post-surgery tomorrow, here is my first post - out of my head and onto this dusty old blog.
Until then, I hope you enjoy the very millennial-like, long-form content that my journalism-educated self still finds as the most comforting medium of consumption. I’ll be back soon to share more.
Cheers! Xoxo
P.S. if you scroll down and deep dive the archived posts from my early days, just know I am cringing along with you. Yikes 2016 was a long time ago!