Our latest Queens Person of the Week turned a personal tragedy into a way to raise awareness and help others. NY1's Clodagh McGowan filed this 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 Irina Brooke, NY1's Queens Person of the Week.
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," added 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.
The Facebook group is filled messages of support, the latest research, and personal post-mastectomy pictures.
"Some of the girls that haven't had the mastectomies yet, they're really scared to death," said Brooke. "And the pictures they have that you Google, they're absolutely horrendous."
Brooke says it's really become a safe space for women during one of the scariest times of their lives.
"We have wonderful support on there. It's wonderful because anytime someone has a question, we always post on there and go to each other. You know, it gets hard sometimes but we're always there to pick each other up," Brooke said.
And so for providing a virtual shoulder to lean on, Irina Brooke is our Queens Person of the Week.