‘Margie’ Supports Australia's ‘Angelina Jolie’ in a Rare Public Appearance
To evade cancer, then 25-year-old Krystal Barter decided to have both her breasts removed. Now at her 30s, she then decided to have her fallopian tubes and ovary removed.
With these, Ms Barter is being likened to Angelina Jolie whose same decision was met with admiration.
There was no apparent symptom telling that Ms Barter has ovarian cancer, but her decision was motivated by a Canadian research saying that surgery as such can reduce the risk of dying by 77 per cent.
Ms Barter's mother and grandmother had breast cancer. And when Ms barter was just 22, it was detected that she carries the BRCA1 gene.
Such radical measure may only be conducted to women who carry the BRCA gene mutation, following expert's recommendation and genetic counselling.
As Ms Barter puts it, "prevention was not the right choice for everyone. But it is easy for someone to talk in a clinical way if they haven't walked the emotional journey."
In 2009, in her hospital bed, Ms Barter found Pink Hope. Pink Hope aims to impart knowledge to those with hereditary and ovarian cancer.
"I was alone and isolated, there was nobody my age who was making choices.There was nobody I could talk to who had this gene, and there was nobody who could guide me," she told the Sydney Morning Herald.
She penned her journey in a memoir titled The Lucky One. Her memoir was launched on Tuesday by Prime Minister Tony Abbott's wife Margie Abbott.
Mrs Abbott, who demanded being called just 'Margie,' rarely makes public appearance and is admittedly choosy with organisation that she supports. Pink Hope is just one of the few charities she graced with her presence.
"Pink Hope is something I'm very passionate about. Krystal's charity is one about giving women a voice. And basically giving a voice to organisations and supporting families under pressure," she said.
And as for Ms Barter, 'Margie' said that she is a young woman on a mission and is admiringly thriving.