Republican National Committee Spokesperson Kayleigh McEnany will on Tuesday undergo an elective double mastectomy to reduce her chances of contracting breast cancer to almost zero, 10 years after she learned that she carries the gene that elevates that risk.
"My mom back in 2009 took a blood test," McEnany told Fox News' "Fox and Friends" co-host Ainsley Earhardt Monday. "We had eight relatives in our family that were plagued by breast cancer, several in their 20s. She took a blood test recommended by our doctors that found out she had an 84 percent lifetime risk of breast cancer."
Her mother then, in 2009 opted for the surgery, long before actress Angelina Jolie's own surgery, said McEnany.
"My mom because of her strength made the decision, and I took the test the same day and was positive," she added.
Over the past decade, "a hard 10 years," McEnany said she had to undergo routine surveillance, including repeated mammograms.
"I waited for 10 years," she said. "I was hoping for a supportive husband."
McEnany married St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Sean Gilmartin in 2017, and he has been empowering about the surgery, she said Monday.
One in 400 women can carry the BRCA genes, which show in a blood test a woman's susceptibility to breast cancer, said McEnany, and most come from families that have a high frequency of breast cancer.
"It is important to talk to your doctor about this," she said. "Some women undergo surveillance. That is the decision they make. It is important to spread awareness around the blood test is out there. As one woman said to me on social media. I did this and I live without the worry of breast cancer for the rest of my life."
McEnany discussed her decision in detail in a Fox News op-ed on Saturday.
Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
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