With bright blue-green hair and a sassy smile, you’d never know Gennivieve Collier has lived with the threat of breast cancer for the past decade.
The 37-year-old Kealba resident was found to have the BRCA 1 gene in her late 20s after her mum and aunt had had breast cancer diagnosed, giving her an 80 per cent chance of contracting breast cancer herself before she turned 36.
Doctors recommended a preventive mastectomy, but instead she set about making the most of life. Then last year, aged 36, Ms Collier found a malignant lump and underwent a double mastectomy and chemotherapy at the Sunshine and Western hospitals.
Last month, during her one-year check-up, doctors found a benign growth on her left ovary.
Ms Collier acted quickly and had a hysterectomy. October is Breast Cancer Awareness month.
