But their greatest hope is that the research will find better ways of preventing cancer, so that mutation carriers no longer face draconian choices like preventive surgery.
This information can be enormously beneficial by encouraging early screening or preventive surgery.
The cancer risk is terrifying, so to me, preventive surgery seems sensible.
Doctors recommended preventive surgery, which was conducted at Massachusetts General Hospital by its chief of vascular surgery, Dr. Richard Cambria.
She would update the general public "with any information that could be useful, including about my next preventive surgery".
On the plane, Deborah showed her mother a PowerPoint presentation she had created, making the case for preventive surgery.
Her stomach was removed and found to contain three microscopic cancer sites, making her preventive surgery also curative.
The women she spoke to for her research who had chosen preventive surgery expressed no regrets at their decision.
