New York mother shares her cancer experience in her memoir

I spend an unhealthy amount of time on social media. I know this because my screen time report occasionally puts me to shame. I won’t say my Instagram addiction is a good thing, but finding Gila Pfeffer’s account definitely inspired me to take my reproductive health into my own hands. All it took was stumbling across a single clever post from the Almost Gone: Adventures in Loss, Cancer, and Other Discomforts author and it was a follow-at-first meme. As I read more of her posts, I noticed that we’re both from New York (I’m from Brooklyn, she’s from Staten Island), both mothers of four, and both share the same dry humor.

Gila uses that relatable humor to entertain her followers with her rye observations and to emphasize the importance of breast cancer prevention, an issue that has unfortunately affected her entire life. On the first day of every month, you can count on Gila to share her monthly #feelitonthefirst posts, a series of humorous photos in which Gila poses with different pairs of items on her chest as a reminder to her followers to perform monthly self-exams. While self-exams are by no means a replacement for annual mammograms, they do allow women to take control of their health and contact their doctor if anything is found to be suspicious.

Gila is passionate about breast cancer prevention, as not only did her mother die from the disease, but she herself is a breast cancer survivor. In her new memoir, Almost gone, Gila describes her journey with breast cancer from the moment she learned her mother might have the disease (while standing in the middle of John F. Kennedy International Airport, on her way to Israel for a semester of college) to the moment she made the courageous decision to save her own life with a preventive double mastectomy.

Gila’s mother sadly passed away at the age of 43 from the disease, leaving behind a grieving husband and five grieving children. She then became a breast cancer expert against her will, using all the knowledge she had gained to ensure that the disease would not take her and her family as it had her and her siblings. While “Nearly Departed” is a story of loss, it is also a story of survival. Gila tells this story with her natural sense of humor, allowing readers to laugh even during the darkest moments.

Gila did everything she could to prevent cancer from reaching her: she scheduled regular screenings, had all of her children before her mother was diagnosed, and took a blood test to determine if she carried the BRCA gene mutation. The BRCA gene test determines whether someone carries the BRCA1 or BRCA2 gene mutation, which tells the patient whether they are at increased risk for breast and ovarian cancer.

No surprise to Gila, the results were positive. With that, Gila opted for a prophylactic double mastectomy, a surgery in which both breasts would be removed to reduce the risk of breast cancer. The procedure ultimately saved her life sooner than expected – not because it prevented breast cancer – but because cancer cells were found.

Despite everything Gila did to avoid this situation, cancer entered her life. Gila’s oncologist was confident that she would have a positive prognosis, but still suggested chemotherapy as a precaution. But make no mistake, this was no “chemo-lite.” Hair loss, nausea, weakness, various side effects, and a long list of medications that would rival a CVS receipt were all part of the grueling process of eight-hour treatments every two weeks for four months. After completing her chemotherapy, Gila also chose to take another precaution by having her ovaries removed to prevent estrogen production, which could lead to a relapse. Gila’s journey had an immediate impact on her sisters, forcing them to make decisions about their own health that helped save their own lives.

To say that Gila has been through a lot is the understatement of the century. Almost gone is a powerful and beautifully written memoir that weaves together humor, raw emotion, and education. Readers of Countess will be inspired by Gila’s courage to take control of her health, despite the challenges she faced, and emerge healthy and here to witness all the family milestones she might have missed had she not taken steps to save her own life.

To learn more about Gila Pfeffer and Almost gonevisit gilapfeffer.com and follow her further Instagram, The advertisementsAnd X. Almost gone is available now at your local bookstore and online retailers. Just be sure to buy at least one box of Kleenex before you start reading – you’re going to need it.

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