A Rockaway Beach woman is using Facebook to raise awareness about a genetic mutation that increases a person's chance of developing breast cancer. NY1's Clodagh McGowan filed the following report.
From the comforts of her living room, Irina Brooke has a network of women she can turn to for support, at her fingertips.
"We have girls from England, we have girls from Ireland," said Brooke, a breast cancer survivor.
Brooke runs the 'Mutant Strong' Facebook group. It's a support group for women with the BRCA 1 or BRCA 2 gene mutation. Research shows carriers of the defective gene have an increased risk of developing breast or ovarian cancer.
"We talk about everything and anything. It sometimes doesn't have to be BRCA related. If somebody's having a bad day, it's there," said Brooke.
Brooke was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2013, shortly after she discovered she has the BRCA gene. After undergoing chemo, Brooke chose to have a preventative mastectomy.
"It takes a lot to really you know come to this decision emotionally. But we do this so we can live," said Brooke.
Brooke says posting post-mastectomy pictures is a big part of the discussion in the private Facebook group.
"Some of the girls that haven't had the mastectomies yet, they're really scared to death. And the pictures they have that you Google, they're absolutely horrendous," said Brooke.
However, she's been reported on Facebook for sharing her pictures. She says she was even banned from logging on for 30 days.
"They completely took my account off as if I didn't exist on Facebook," said Brooke.
NY1 reached out to Facebook and a spokesperson confirms a user can post pictures of breasts with post-mastectomy scarring. The spokesperson went on to say in part, "We understand that sharing photos can help raise awareness about breast cancer and support the men and women facing a diagnosis, undergoing treatment or living with the scars of cancer. These pictures were removed in error. Our team processes millions of reports each week, and we occasionally do make a mistake."
Going forward, Brooke hopes to continue spreading awareness to both women and men by sharing her story.