Nicki Whitaker decided to undergo a double mastectomy when she found she had inherited the faulty BRCA 2 gene. She speaks to health reporter Kate Liptrot.

AFTER her sister died from cancer at the age of 28, Nicki Whitaker decided she had to find out if she had inherited the same faulty gene.

Stephanie Wardley was diagnosed with ovarian cancer aged 26. Doctors suspected the cancer may be genetic and a blood test confirmed she carried the faulty BRCA2 gene.

Before Stephanie died in St Leonard’s Hospice after a long fight against the disease – in which she went into remission before relapsing – the York Hospital healthcare assistant urged her sister to be checked.

Finally bringing herself to do the test a year after Stephanie died, the result confirmed Nicki carried the gene. It brings a 50 to 85 per cent per cent risk of developing breast cancer and an increased chance of developing ovarian cancer.

Nicki said: “I was caught up in a bubble. Even when I got the results it didn’t bother me, until I went to work and burst into tears. It didn’t hit me until a few days after, but I had always assumed the test would be positive.”

She quickly knew she would have a double mastectomy to dramatically reduce her chance of developing breast cancer, which seemed an inevitability.

She said: “I remember the surgeon saying to me ‘when’ you get breast cancer, not ‘if’ you get breast cancer. There was no choice in the matter. I was terrified, but I knew I had to. I know Steph would have wanted me to do it because she told me so. She told me to make sure I was careful.”

Nicki, 30, a waitress who lives with her art consultant husband Stuart in Selby, underwent the operation at York Hospital followed by reconstructive surgery in June 2011.

She has since had four further operations due to complications and infection.

Her family and friends have rallied around her with her husband being an “amazing” support, her dad, Michael, driving her back and forth to hospital and mum Ann making regular trips to see her. Nicki now says the worst is over.

She said: “I have not always been really positive and I have had some down moments, but I’m in a good place now. I’m still in pain sometimes and I have rotten days but it’s behind me now.

“It’s not the end of the world, you get new breasts and you carry on,” she said resolutely.

She said she is pleased high-profile women such as Angelina Jolie – who also had a preventative double mastectomy last year to cut her risk of developing the disease – have been speaking openly about the procedure.

The former Manor School pupil said she hopes to have children in the next few years, but in the future may have her ovaries removed as a further preventative measure against cancer.

Many women who carry the faulty gene are not aware.

While nearly 90 per cent of women are aware of Angelina Jolie’s story, and more than 90 per cent understood her decision to undergo the double mastectomy, only one in ten were then prompted to look into their own family history of breast or ovarian cancer, medical research charity Ovarian Cancer Action said.

Nicki has urged other women who may have a family history of breast or ovarian cancer to be proactive and be genetically tested.

In 2007, in an interview with The Press about going back to work after illness, Stephanie told of how being diagnosed with ovarian cancer at the age of 26 came as a bombshell.

“Everything that was normal was taken away from me and my whole life was turned upside down,” she said. “Chemotherapy makes you feel lousy and it took a long, long time to get over it.”

Nicki said her sister went back and forth between doctors for a long time before she was diagnosed with cancer – as she had been seen as too young to be likely to have ovarian cancer.

Speaking during Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month, Nicki said it was crucial women were persistent in getting a diagnosis if they felt something was wrong “I pretty much ignored it for a year. I didn’t feel ready to know,” she said.

“When I did decide to get tested it was no question for me, I needed to know.

“To me, knowledge is power and being able to know and take preventative steps is a gift.

“I think whether a woman choses to get tested or not, it’s important to be vigilant.

“It’s important to get checked and it’s not the end of the world to find you have the faulty gene – you can do something about it. Life goes on and it’s still good.”

• Castle Art Gallery in Castlegate – where Nicki’s husband works – is holding a coffee morning event on Friday, March 21, in support of Ovarian Cancer Action from 10am to noon

The event will be an exclusive introduction to an appearance by artist Paul Horton on March 23, a highly successful name in contemporary art.


Ovarian Cancer: The facts

The four main symptoms of ovarian cancer are:

• Persistent stomach pain
• Persistent bloating or increased stomach size
• Difficulty eating or feeling full quickly
• Needing to urinate more frequently

The key features of the symptoms of ovarian cancer are:

• Their persistency - they don’t go away
• Their frequency - they occur most days
• The symptoms are new - they started in the last 12 months
• The symptoms are unusual - they are not normal for you