She didn’t fully understand her risk

Around the time of her 40th birthday, Rockaway resident sident Irina Brooke had her annual mammogram. Her grandmother her had breast cancer, so she had been extra diligent about getting tting screened since her late 30s.

The test and her doctor cleared her. But in the months following, Brooke, who is now 46 and works in home care, had increasingly itchy breasts, which her dermatologist mentioned was a warning sign for breast cancer. The next time she went in for a mammogram, she insisted on an ultrasound, too. It showed she had a slow-moving type of cancer she believes could have been caught the year prior — if she had had the additional screening.

“Had I gotten an MRI, it would have shown the [cancer’s progression]. I could have saved myself from chemo,” says Brooke.

After her diagnosis, Brooke discovered she was a BRCA2 carrier. She also learned that Ashkenazi Jewish h women like herself are at a much higher risk of develop- oping breast cancer. Last month, the American College of Radiology issued new recommendations for Ashkena- azi Jewish and African-American women, who are advised to discuss additional screenings such as MRIs with their doctors.

“That’s just my Jewish luck,” Brooke, a mother of two, says with a laugh.

Now, she tells anyone who will listen — from women in the doctor’s office to those on the checkout line at Victoria’s Secret — about the importance of knowing your risk and getting genetic testing. She even started an online support group, Mutant Strong, to spread awareness for genetic testing.

“You have to be your own best advocate,” she says.