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Living with a 100% cancer risk: One woman's story of a rare TP53 gene mutation

Tracy Hutchinson

2d ago· 5 min readenNews

personal health genetics medical

Summary

Tracy Hutchinson shares her personal story of living with a rare TP53 gene variant that gives her a 100% chance of developing cancer. After losing her sister to leukaemia and watching multiple family members battle various cancers, she discovered she carries the genetic mutation. She now lives with constant anxiety, undergoes regular whole-body MRIs and extensive screening, and faces difficult decisions about preventive measures like mastectomies. The article explores the emotional and psychological toll of living with such a high genetic cancer risk.

Source

Twitter / XLiving with a 100% cancer risk: One woman's story of a rare TP53 gene mutationnewscientist.com

Key quotes

· 3 pulled

I started to wonder if something funky was going on when multiple people in my family got cancer around the same time.

I have a 100 per cent chance of getting cancer due to a rare gene

Rebecca passed away in 1994 and then, a couple of years after that, my dad got bowel cancer.

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A rare variant of a gene called TP53 means Tracy Hutchinson has an extreme risk of developing cancer anywhere in her body, causing endless anxiety and requiring regular whole-body MRIs and other screening

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