6/20/2019 My son needs me – Komen Wisconsin

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My son needs me
BRCA1 and BRCA2 (BReast CAncer genes 1 and 2) are the best-known genes linked to
increased breast cancer risk. By age 70, BRCA1 carriers have a 55 to 65 percent chance of
developing breast cancer, and BRCA2 carriers have about a 45 percent chance. In contrast,
women in the general public only have about a 7 percent chance of getting breast cancer by
age 70.

About one in 400 people in the United States have a BRCA1/2 mutation. Danisha Hall is one
in 400.

Passing of the genes

Danisha’s family is no stranger to breast cancer. Her mom died of breast cancer at the age of
36, when Danisha was only 11 years old. Her grandmother came from a family of 13
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children — nine of whom died of breast cancer, including Danisha’s grandmother at the age
of 26. Another one of those siblings is a two-time breast cancer survivor. Beyond that,
Danisha has had many extended family members reach out to her sharing their own breast
cancer struggles.

“I knew in my heart it wasn’t just a cyst.”

Knowing her own family history, Danisha knew what was to come when she felt a knot in
her breast in 2015. “I knew in my heart it wasn’t just a cyst,” Danisha said.

Following an ultrasound and breast biopsy,

Danisha was diagnosed with stage II triple
negative breast cancer. She later tested positive
for the BRCA gene mutation.

A er a double mastectomy and seven months

of chemotherapy, Danisha was declared in
remission — but not for long.

Danisha while she was going through

chemotherapy.

When it comes back

One year later, Danisha began to feel pains in her neck. Her doctor did an ultrasound and
biopsy, and promised to call her with the results. Scared of the truth ahead, Danisha did
not initially answer the calls from her doctor when the results came in.

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“I got scared, and I freaked out about what they would tell me. What finally made me go
back to the doctor was my son. I looked at him and realized what I was doing wrong. My
son needed me,” Danisha said.

Her doctor confirmed her worst fears: her cancer was back, and this time it had spread.
Danisha was diagnosed with stage IV breast cancer, also known as metastatic breast cancer.

Someone to fight for

At the time of her first diagnosis, Danisha’s son
Tawaun was only 9 years old. Tawaun became
Danisha’s motivating factor for fighting her cancer
head on.

At one point a er her diagnosis, Danisha did not

even have a place to live. While her son stayed with
his grandmother, she looked for shelters and even
stayed in her car for some time. She desperately
needed help for her and her son.

Danisha and her son Tawaun.

“The Komen Wisconsin Fund took a lot of stress o of

me so that I could focus on beating this cancer.”

That’s where Susan G. Komen Wisconsin stepped in. Through the Komen Wisconsin Breast
Cancer Assistance Fund, Danisha was granted $500 for gas cards to get to and from
treatment as well as $750 to help pay for her rent.

“The Komen Wisconsin Fund took a lot of stress o of me

Danisha and Tawaun at the 2018
so that I could focus on beating this cancer,” Danisha said.
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The money she received from Komen Wisconsin not only

ensured she could continue to get to her treatments, but
also that she could a ord to put a roof over her son’s
head.

Today Danisha is fighting her breast cancer with all of her

might — for herself and for her son.

MORE THAN PINK Walk.

To learn more about the Susan G. Komen Wisconsin Breast Cancer Assistance Fund,

click here.

To learn more about the BRCA1/2 mutation, click here.

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