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This Former ‘Bachelor’ Contestant Is Documenting Her Double Mastectomy on Instagram & Inspiring TF Out of Us

Her Campus Placeholder Avatar Catherine Lowe

On March 8 former Bachelor contestant Lesley Murphy announced via Instagram that she is getting a double mastectomy. Since finding out that she tested positive for the breast cancer gene BRCA2, she has decided to remove both of her breasts at 29 years old. Lesley’s mom had breast cancer three years ago, which factored into her choice. She wants to be positive and live her best life possible, cancer-free.

Lesley—who competed on Sean Lowe’s season of The Bachelor and was a bridesmaid in his wedding to winner Catherine Giudici—captioned her post, “In no way am I looking for pity through this story. I’ve wanted to share the news since the beginning simply to be an advocate for early screenings, detections and girl power.” 

 

I’ve been thinking on what message to put out there about power, courage, and love and then it hit me… #InternationalWomensDay is the perfect time to share what I’ve been up to the past few weeks. It has nothing to do with exciting new destinations or more stamps in my passport. A couple of weeks ago I found out I’m BRCA2 positive, which means I’m at a high risk for breast and ovarian cancer one day. Buzzzz kill. I know. But it’s true what they say – knowledge is power. I’m left with a few options and have decided that preventative surgery is what I want over various screenings multiple times a year. A double mastectomy at 2freaking9. Wtf?! Yep, it’s happening. In no way am I looking for pity through this story. I’ve wanted to share the news since the beginning simply to be an advocate for early screenings, detections and girl power. Bear with the choppy edits/audio. Day 2 video is coming (reconstruction/plastics, exciting stuff!) but in the interim, I’ll be celebrating boobs, knowledge, taking action, and my breast cancer surviving mother today. PS if you see dirt on my forehead, I shot this on Ash Wednesday

A post shared by Lesley • The Road Les Traveled (@lesleyannemurphy) on

Lesley posted a follow-up video the next day, where she talked about what happened at her doctor’s appointment. You can see Lesley twirling around in a gown, and her smile is absolutely contagious! She explains how her day was filled with plastic sugery discussions, an ultrasound, mammogram and MRI. 

“It feels SO good to have a support system like y’all, and I love how a platform like Instagram brings people together who’ve gone through similar circumstances,” she wrote.
“You say I’m inspiring, but the stories told in my comment section inspired me just the same and reconfirmed my decision to move forward with everything. A surgery date of April 11th is in the books! Until then, I have a month packed full of adventures overseas!”

 

Day 2 was filled with plastic surgery discussions plus a mammogram, ultrasound and MRI in order to rule out any existing cancer or other problems before surgery (I’m cancer free!). I haven’t spent much time in hospitals, so a long day like this gave me so much appreciation for those who must endure many minutes, hours and days inside their walls. As you can tell, I made it as much “fun” as I possibly could. Also, I can’t tell you how much I appreciate everyone’s messages on my video from yesterday. It feels SO good to have a support system like y’all, and I love how a platform like @instagram brings people together who’ve gone through similar circumstances. You say I’m inspiring, but the stories told in my comment section inspired me just the same and reconfirmed my decision to move forward with everything. A surgery date of April 11th is in the books! Until then, I have a month packed full of adventures overseas!

A post shared by Lesley • The Road Les Traveled (@lesleyannemurphy) on

I am seriously beyond inspired by this courageous decision of hers. Good for you, Lesley! Keep living your best life. 

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Catherine is an ambitious twenty-something woman living in Rock Hill, South Carolina where she attends Winthrop University as a mass communication major. She is the President and Campus Correspondent for Her Campus at Winthrop, which she co-founded in November 2014. She has also been a member of the Winthrop chapter of the Association for Women in Communications, and is currently the President of the Society of Professional Journalists chapter at Winthrop. Since being involved with Her Campus, Catherine received an internship at Her Campus Media in Boston, MA. She also currently works as a Chapter Advisor for the company and writes about Grey's Anatomy each week for the site. Because of Her Campus, she has also received writing positions at many publications throughout her 3 years at Winthrop. Outside of her busy lifestyle, Catherine enjoys relaxing with her friends on the weekends and having Sex and the City marathons. She can't live without her dog, family, Cosmopolitan, friends, Starbucks, Instagram, The Bachelor, Grey's Anatomy and of course Chick-fil-A. Follow her on Instagram and Twitter: @cathclowe!