Remembering Tarah Harvey

Tarah Harvey was a mother, wife, daughter and business professional, who was diagnosed with metastatic breast cancer (mBC) in October 2016 at the age of 32. She lived in Little Elm, Texas, a suburb of Dallas, with her husband Sam and two young children, Hannah and Braxton.

Tarah was diagnosed with de novo mBC, after noticing a bump on her breast while nursing her then eight-month-old son. De novo mBC means the breast cancer is metastatic at initial diagnosis. In the U.S., approximately six percent of women are diagnosed with de novo mBC.

Many of Tarah's family members, including her father, were diagnosed and sadly passed away from cancer. After Tarah was diagnosed with mBC at a young age, her doctors recommended that she receive genetic testing to determine if her breast cancer was caused by an inherited genetic mutation. She tested positive for the BRCA2 and CHEK2 mutations. After receiving her genetic test result, Tarah learned that understanding her hereditary status can help inform treatment decisions. It can also help her children to one day take proactive steps to managing their potential risk for being diagnosed with cancer.

Tarah always kept a positive outlook and stayed motivated by setting personal goals, like taking her daughter to her first day of kindergarten – which she did! Tarah also believed in the importance of sharing her story to help others affected by mBC know they're not alone and that there is a community of people who are incredibly supportive and want to help.

Sadly, on October 19, 2019, Tarah Harvey passed away from mBC at the age of 35.

Tarah Harvey was a mother, wife, daughter and business professional, who was diagnosed with metastatic breast cancer (mBC) in October 2016 at the age of 32. She lived in Little Elm, Texas, a suburb of Dallas, with her husband Sam and two young children, Hannah and Braxton.

Tarah was diagnosed with de novo mBC, after noticing a bump on her breast while nursing her then then eight-month-old son. De novo

Read More
5840773718001

Because of Tarah’s family history and her diagnosis with mBC at such a young age, her doctors recommended that she receive genetic testing to determine if she had an inherited genetic mutation. After receiving her genetic test results, Tarah met with a genetic counselor to review them. With specialized training in medical genetics and counseling, genetic counselors play a unique and critical role. This includes helping to determine which genetic test is right for a particular patient, reviewing genetic test results and supporting patients in navigating the implications of that information.

5840785564001

Before her passing, Tarah, her mom, husband and best friend describe how they felt after she was diagnosed with mBC.