Uninformed Consent! (When a VUS was presented as “It’s not a matter of IF, but WHEN…)

Recent signers:
Angie Burrell and 19 others have signed recently.

The Issue

Injustice ANYWHERE is a Threat to Justice EVERYWHERE! ~MLK    No patient should lose their right to justice because the truth was hidden from them. In 2015, I underwent genetic testing that revealed what doctors called a VUS/“variant of uncertain significance.” At the time, no one knew whether it was harmful or harmless. HOWEVER; In 2018, I was told “it wasn’t a matter of if, but WHEN I would get breast cancer”. Terrified, I reluctantly moved forward to have the double mastectomy, as opposed to the Lumpectomy originally proposed by my PCP due to a Biopsied BENIGN LUMP which had caused me pain. But here is the devastating truth: my genetic variant was RECLASSIFIED as benign in 2016—TWO YEARS BEFORE my surgery!!! Imagine a Surgeon doing surgery on you WITHOUT doing their due diligence under the STANDARD OF CARE! In January 2025, during an appt with an Oncologist, due to ongoing breast pain, the doctor stated: “I wasn’t going to tell you, but I felt you needed to know that you don’t have the gene.” He handed me the amended genetic report right there in his office. That moment broke me. I WAS LITERALLY IMMOBILIZED!!! I realized I had endured a life-altering, irreversible surgery for nothing!!! With that information in mind, and to confirm, I underwent a second genetic test. The results were clear: I carried no pathogenic variants. ⸻ But the damage was already done. Not only do I live with the physical and emotional scars of an unnecessary double mastectomy, I now live with Sarcoidosis, a chronic autoimmune condition that developed after my breast implant revision surgery… Right now the “law” tells MANY that their PAIN is irrelevant because time ran out. This is not FAIRNESS! This is not EQUALITY! This is definitely not JUSTICE! ⸻ This UNNECESSARY surgery didn’t just violate me — it sabotaged my ENTIRE household. It created medical chaos that stole my time, my strength, my income, and my son’s sense of safety. Every revision surgery, every infection, every day I couldn’t move. You see, my son has lung disease. . . He needs a mother who can breathe for him when he can’t, who can show up at appointments, who can advocate for him, who can pick him up when his body gives out. Instead, he witnessed his mother disabled by a surgery that should never have happened. My child watched me bleed, struggle, collapse, cry through pain that was inflicted under false pretenses. He watched the AFTERMATH of their lies.” I am fighting not just for myself, but for EVERY patient who has trusted the system and been betrayed by it. Help me fight to EXTEND the STATUTE of Limitations, and implement a FAIR Discovery Timeline! Help me hold these Drs who have an apparent Gateway to no accountability land… Help me fight for FAIRNESS and EQUALITY for ALL who are HARMED to benefit from, and not just those in certain States, OR those of a different ETHNICITY! Because let’s be frank, WHILE I am going through this, I am seeing MULTIPLE people UNLIKE ME, who are being escorted across the line of accountability!!! It is NOT FAIR that I have to sit in MENTAL ANGUISH, explain to someone my pain ONLY for them to turn around and add to it by telling me, “I’m sorry for your pain, BUT I cannot help UNLESS you find a Dr willing to write a Certificate of Merit... Yes I have Drs, but they cost” (my interpretation to that was “I don’t want to invest in you)🗣️Yes I was told that TWICE!!! I was told YES I BELIEVE YOU,… YES YOU WERE WRONGED, but I don’t know if a Jury will rule in your favor because “I’m not sure” that the Dr didn’t act within the standard of care! So let’s be clear, the STANDARD OF CARE is clear! If genetic testing was done in 2015, and a surgery was proposed in 2018, the provider had the DUTY to stay abreast of any update, confirm what is, and INFORM the patient!!! NONE of that was done!!! So Please help me fight THE GOOD FIGHT as if it were YOU, or your loved one! No one is exempt ⚖️

avatar of the starter
L ,Petition Starter
This petition had 92 supporters
Recent signers:
Angie Burrell and 19 others have signed recently.

The Issue

Injustice ANYWHERE is a Threat to Justice EVERYWHERE! ~MLK    No patient should lose their right to justice because the truth was hidden from them. In 2015, I underwent genetic testing that revealed what doctors called a VUS/“variant of uncertain significance.” At the time, no one knew whether it was harmful or harmless. HOWEVER; In 2018, I was told “it wasn’t a matter of if, but WHEN I would get breast cancer”. Terrified, I reluctantly moved forward to have the double mastectomy, as opposed to the Lumpectomy originally proposed by my PCP due to a Biopsied BENIGN LUMP which had caused me pain. But here is the devastating truth: my genetic variant was RECLASSIFIED as benign in 2016—TWO YEARS BEFORE my surgery!!! Imagine a Surgeon doing surgery on you WITHOUT doing their due diligence under the STANDARD OF CARE! In January 2025, during an appt with an Oncologist, due to ongoing breast pain, the doctor stated: “I wasn’t going to tell you, but I felt you needed to know that you don’t have the gene.” He handed me the amended genetic report right there in his office. That moment broke me. I WAS LITERALLY IMMOBILIZED!!! I realized I had endured a life-altering, irreversible surgery for nothing!!! With that information in mind, and to confirm, I underwent a second genetic test. The results were clear: I carried no pathogenic variants. ⸻ But the damage was already done. Not only do I live with the physical and emotional scars of an unnecessary double mastectomy, I now live with Sarcoidosis, a chronic autoimmune condition that developed after my breast implant revision surgery… Right now the “law” tells MANY that their PAIN is irrelevant because time ran out. This is not FAIRNESS! This is not EQUALITY! This is definitely not JUSTICE! ⸻ This UNNECESSARY surgery didn’t just violate me — it sabotaged my ENTIRE household. It created medical chaos that stole my time, my strength, my income, and my son’s sense of safety. Every revision surgery, every infection, every day I couldn’t move. You see, my son has lung disease. . . He needs a mother who can breathe for him when he can’t, who can show up at appointments, who can advocate for him, who can pick him up when his body gives out. Instead, he witnessed his mother disabled by a surgery that should never have happened. My child watched me bleed, struggle, collapse, cry through pain that was inflicted under false pretenses. He watched the AFTERMATH of their lies.” I am fighting not just for myself, but for EVERY patient who has trusted the system and been betrayed by it. Help me fight to EXTEND the STATUTE of Limitations, and implement a FAIR Discovery Timeline! Help me hold these Drs who have an apparent Gateway to no accountability land… Help me fight for FAIRNESS and EQUALITY for ALL who are HARMED to benefit from, and not just those in certain States, OR those of a different ETHNICITY! Because let’s be frank, WHILE I am going through this, I am seeing MULTIPLE people UNLIKE ME, who are being escorted across the line of accountability!!! It is NOT FAIR that I have to sit in MENTAL ANGUISH, explain to someone my pain ONLY for them to turn around and add to it by telling me, “I’m sorry for your pain, BUT I cannot help UNLESS you find a Dr willing to write a Certificate of Merit... Yes I have Drs, but they cost” (my interpretation to that was “I don’t want to invest in you)🗣️Yes I was told that TWICE!!! I was told YES I BELIEVE YOU,… YES YOU WERE WRONGED, but I don’t know if a Jury will rule in your favor because “I’m not sure” that the Dr didn’t act within the standard of care! So let’s be clear, the STANDARD OF CARE is clear! If genetic testing was done in 2015, and a surgery was proposed in 2018, the provider had the DUTY to stay abreast of any update, confirm what is, and INFORM the patient!!! NONE of that was done!!! So Please help me fight THE GOOD FIGHT as if it were YOU, or your loved one! No one is exempt ⚖️

avatar of the starter
L ,Petition Starter

The Decision Makers

Glenn Youngkin
Former Virginia Governor
C. Hayes
Virginia House of Delegates - District 91
Mark Obenshain
Virginia State Senate - District 2

Supporter Voices

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