Tracey Zimmerman is the person you want in your corner working to keep you at your best.
As a mother of two adult daughters, she travels frequently to visit them and chats with them to stay up to date on everything happening in their lives.
As a nurse care manager at Newark-Wayne Community Hospital, Tracey helps to facilitate safe discharges for patients.
She was at an employee picnic over the summer and stopped by a table promoting GenoWell – a community health research program that offers no-cost genetic screening.
Tracey knew she had family history that raised her risk of having the BRCA2 gene mutation, meaning her DNA carries a gene that, when mutated, significantly raises her lifetime risk of several types of cancer, including breast, ovarian, pancreatic, and prostate.
“When I found out about the program, I thought this would be a great way to lead by example for my daughters,” Tracey said. “I had been thinking about genetic screening for a while because a relative had told me recently that she learned she was BRCA2 positive.”
Undergoing screening through GenoWell
Tracey went to a lab and had her bloodwork done. The results came back and confirmed that she was positive for the BRCA2 gene mutation.
Because of Tracey’s positive result, her daughters qualified for clinical family variant testing, at no-cost. Saliva collection kits were mailed to both of Tracey’s daughters who live out of town so they could undergo this clinical testing.
In conversations with her daughters, Tracey has shared her personal experience as each one makes their own choices about their healthcare. She says it has informed both her daughters as they consider their decisions.
“As a mother to two daughters, I wanted to be a good example to them.”Tracey Zimmerman, GenoWell patient
The reason behind the decision for genetic screening
Tracey’s family history is the driving force behind much of the decision making when it comes to her health.
Her stepsister was diagnosed with breast cancer at 36 and passed away at 42. As a result, Tracey and the women in her family take it very seriously. She says she has always been vigilant about mammograms.
After receiving her screening results from GenoWell, Tracey added a breast MRI to her breast cancer screening plan. Every six months, she gets either a mammogram or breast MRI.
“If there’s one thing I can do for my stepsister, it’s to advocate for her,” Tracey said.
“As a nurse and as a woman, it’s our responsibility to protect our health. On my dad’s side, my grandmother and two aunts passed away from breast cancer and metastatic lung cancer. I grew up in an era where you didn’t talk about female health.”
Today, Tracey is still living her life – visiting her boyfriend’s grandchildren and taking a trip to Disney World. Knowing that she is taking charge of her health makes her that much more confident in her future.
“Genetics is wonderful,” Tracey said. “You know what to focus on and what to look out for. Knowledge is power.”
Learn about your genetic risk for breast cancer through no-cost genetic screening with GenoWell, our community health research program.
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