HOUSTON — Vatrecia and Vamekia are identical twins who've shared a lot in their 39 years, but neither ever expected to face a battle with breast cancer together before they turned 40.
In December 2021, Vatrecia was in the shower when she felt a hardness in one of her breasts. Her mother convinced her to get a mammogram at Harris Health and that decision may have saved her life. The mammogram confirmed she had stage 3 breast cancer.
“Once I received the biopsy, I knew it could only turn out one of two ways,” Vatrecia recalled.
She started six months of chemo with Vamekia at her side to support her.
“I went through chemotherapy. I had a transfusion that messed with my heart that developed an infection. I also had to have a hysterectomy,” Vatrecia said.
The sisters were stunned when Vamekia felt something in her breast a few months later in March 2022 and a biopsy confirmed she had stage 1 cancer.
“We were already close, but this was different. We were determined to fight cancer together like we have with everything else in life,” Vamekia says. “Now, we are more comfortable being emotional with each other.”
The twins found hope and inspiration when they found out Vamekia was pregnant two months after her diagnosis.
“That was a blessing for the both of us,” Vatrecia said.
The pregnancy wasn't easy since Vamekia was enduring chemo treatments at the time but she gave birth to Ryan Kinsley Gayfield on Dec. 21, 2022, almost a year to the date that Vatrecia was first diagnosed.
“Her daughter is like my daughter. I love her so much. It was hard, but we got through it together along with God, our mother and other sisters," Vetrecia said.
In fact, the toddler is already calling her “aunty mama.” It’s a title she wears with pride.
Because of the cancer connection, the twins were given the BRCA gene test for breast and ovarian cancer risk. BRCA 1 and BRCA 2 are the different genes linked to increased chances of developing cancer. It turned out both were positive for the gene, meaning their siblings and, now little Ryan, are susceptible to breast or ovarian cancer.
Vatrecia and Vamedia both decided to get hysterectomies.
“It was a lot, especially the hysterectomy because I don’t have children,” Vatrecia admitted. “That has been really hard to deal with. I won’t lie, I cried a lot about it and it still makes me sad sometimes.”
The twins traced the BRCA gene to their father who was adopted and knew very little about his family health history. With the new insight, however, all family members are more vigilant about breast self-exams and routine mammography screenings.
The twins recently joined other breast cancer survivors at Harris Health’s Pink Out at Smith Clinic to celebrate survivors as part of National Breast Cancer Awareness Month.