At just 24, Leicester performing arts teacher Sally Chapman learned she carried the BRCA2 genetic fault, which sharply raises her risk of breast cancer. After losing nine relatives to the disease, she chose to have a double mastectomy at age 27 to reduce that risk.
“I knew I was going to get breast cancer at some point,” Chapman said. “It was just a matter of time.”
Balancing Youth and Family Planning
Chapman faced pressure to wait until after starting a family. Her mother warned she was “too young,” and doctors advised delaying surgery until she had children with her partner, Aaron Brown, 35. Yet Chapman remained firm: “How would I feel if I had breast cancer and nothing was done about it?”
She consulted someone who had the same surgery and realized that delaying offered no real benefit. “What am I waiting for?” she recalled thinking.
Life After Reconstruction and Motherhood
Following her mastectomy, Chapman underwent breast reconstruction. In the years that followed, she welcomed two children: daughter Frankie, now seven, and son Hughie, now three. Reflecting ten years later at age 37, she remarked, “I’m truly grateful I did it. I have no regrets.”
Further Preventive Steps in Ovarian Cancer Trial
Last year, Chapman joined an experimental trial called The Protector, having her fallopian tubes removed to lower her ovarian cancer risk. Research shows many ovarian cancers begin there. She plans to remove her ovaries in her early 40s.
“For me, positivity is key,” she said. “I recovered faster after my mastectomy than I did now, ten years later.”
Praising Cara Tointon for Raising Awareness
Chapman praised actress Cara Tointon for publicly sharing her own double mastectomy story. “It’s so brave of Cara to talk about it,” she said. “She’s just like me—she wants to help one person.”
Chapman’s own openness led friends and followers to seek checks. “When I shared my story, people came forward to get checked,” she noted. “That response showed me how important it is to talk about these choices.”
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