I got tested for the BRCA gene mutation while I was pregnant. With my family history, I knew I wanted a double mastectomy regardless of the results.

Photo Credit: Sarah Raanan

• Gila Pfeffer is a humor writer who splits her time between NYC and London.
• The following is an adapted excerpt from her memoir, "Nearly Departed: Adventures in Loss, Cancer, and Other Inconveniences."
• It chronicles her journey as a cancer previvor and survivor, determined to reverse the cycle of death in her family.

Eleven years after my mother died in 1994...