BAFA Senior Danielle Pearce and Her Decision for a Double Mastectomy

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Mar 1, 2018

At the age of 23, Danielle Pearce, a BAFA student who studies photography and economics, decided to undergo a double mastectomy and breast reconstruction within the next two years.

Pearce made the decision as a preventative measure after she was tested in 2014 for the BRCA1 mutated gene. According to cancer.gov, the website of the National Cancer Institute, women with the mutation have an increased risk of breast and ovarian cancer.

Photo 1: A self portrait of Pearce. “I liked duality of the light and dark. This gene mutation has brought me a lot of light and dark in the sense of the darkness with cancer, I have to go through all these changes and the light is its brought me a lot closer to my mom and grandma, it’s brought me this crazy bond that I can’t explain to a bunch of women who I would’ve never met otherwise because they also share the gene.”

According to the site, 72 percent of women with the BRCA1 mutation will develop breast cancer by the age of 80.

The mutation test gained widespread attention after Angelina Jolie wrote an op-ed for The New York Times in 2013 about her decision to go through a double mastectomy and breast reconstruction.

Pearce decided to get tested after her mother and grandmother suffered through breast cancer twice.

“It’s just this weight hanging over me at this point, and I’ve decided that I’m ready to do it younger,” Pearce said. “I have a great support team.”

Pearce had planned to wait until the age of 30 to have the double mastectomy. However, after befriending women her age with the BRCA1 gene and hearing their stories, she decided to have the surgery sooner.

“When you’re younger, you heal easier, and if I did wait to have the surgery until I was 28 or something and got breast cancer, I’d lose all my choices,” Pearce said. “I wouldn’t be able to choose to keep my nipples. I wouldn’t be able to choose to go on hormone replacement when I’m older. By waiting, I’m risking losing all the choices I do have with this matter and my body.”

Pearce decided to do her photography thesis on life with the BRCA1 mutation. Her final project, which was shown at Milk Gallery in May 2017, consisted of eight black and white Polaroids that were radiated in the microwave to symbolize the radiation treatment of breast cancer.

“The Polaroids represented the physical body, with the physical image,” Pearce said about her project. “Intimacy and Polaroids go hand in hand and this part of my body that will be operated on is a very intimate part of my body.”

Above: An image of Pearce’s face. Pearce radiated the image for about 3 seconds before it started to explode. Pearce said it’s the most distorted of the set. “That specific one was very debated in my critiques with my professors and classmates. Some said it was too abstract and others thought the image added to the piece with the idea of the risk of cancer and these tumorous spots taking over the film.”

Left to right: Pearce said she does monthly self breast exams and these photos represent the worry and frustrations she feels living with the BRCA1 gene mutation. “I really wanted to show those deeper emotions I have something with my body. It is hard to think that my breasts will basically be amputated someday soon.”

Left to right: A photo of Pearce’s breasts and another of her doing a self breast examination.

Left to right: Another self portrait and photo of Pearce looking in the mirror during a breast examination. Pearce used a Impossible I-1 Instant Film Camera for the project, which allowed her to take the portraits by using a self-timer.

Photos by Danielle Pearce