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WATCH: Q&A with Sonali Kolhatkar on Her Preventive Double Mastectomy, the BRCA Gene Mutation, Grief, Body Image, and Mental Health

Journalist Sonali Kolhatkar also discusses her medical decision-making, family support, recovery, and the power of writing fiction and nonfiction

As part of Breast Cancer Awareness Month, we recently published personal essay “Confessions of a Breast Cancer Previvor” by journalist

.

Physical Health

Confessions of a Breast Cancer Previvor

Confessions of a Breast Cancer Previvor

What have I done? The thought flashed in my mind like an unrelenting neon sign on a dark night. I was sitting on the edge of a hospital bed, body bound with bandages. A mummy. Living dead.

To expand on the topic, last week, Open Secrets Editor-in-Chief

interviewed Sonali about her essay, one of her first forays into first-person writing, the timeline for her mastectomy decision, how her family’s history of breast cancer impacted her choice, how she approached researching the surgery, her expectations and the very different aftermath, how her body image was affected by her mastectomy and reconstruction, mental health, family support, and her career as a journalist and fiction author (watch for her debut novel, Queen of Aaroh, in 2027 from Red Hen Press!). Watch the interview above and stay tuned for more contributor Q&As!

Learn more about Sonali and her writing, books, and her show Rising Up With Sonali at her website, sonalikolhatkar.com.

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