Morgan Wade shared her story about getting a double mastectomy — and how Kyle Richards became a massive help during this difficult time.
Speaking with People on Thursday, the country music star shared she lost both her grandmother and great-aunt to pancreatic cancer. She even had an aunt who was diagnosed with breast cancer at age 30. So when a cousin tested positive for the RAD51D gene mutation, which puts carriers at risk for breast cancer, Morgan decided to take control of her own health and got checked out herself. It wasn’t good news, though.
The 29-year-old singer sadly had tested positive for the gene mutation, too. Choosing the path of prevention, Morgan made the difficult decision to get her breasts removed. On November 18, she went through a four-hour long surgery – getting both the double mastectomy and reconstructive surgery done that same day. While Morgan was afraid going into the surgery at first, she has absolutely no regrets about it. Morgan told People:
“I would rather have done all this and never know if I was going to get breast cancer or not. I would’ve rather done this and have that peace of mind. Life is short, life is precious, and I’m grateful for the advances with science that we have the knowledge to be able to go and take care of these things.”
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And a big reason she was able to get the double mastectomy sooner rather than later? It was all thanks to her best friend (and rumored lover) Kyle. The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills star connected Morgan to the nonprofit Mission Plasticos, who are dedicated to providing no-cost reconstructive surgical care to uninsured or underinsured people. Kyle had been working with the organization for years after losing her mom Kathleen to breast cancer in 2002 and knew they would be about to help out the songstress. The 54-year-old reality star explained:
“I’ve been involved with Mission Plasticos for years, and greatly admire the work they do for women across the country. Breast cancer has impacted my family, and I understand how overwhelming it can be to navigate the healthcare system, the procedures it can entail, the emotional and physical ramifications it can have. When Morgan told me what she was dealing with in terms of her health, I knew Mission Plasticos would be an incredible resource.”
Through the nonprofit, Morgan was able to find Dr. Heather MacDonald to perform the mastectomy and Dr. Karen Leong to insert her implants afterward. Typically, Susan Williamson, executive director of Mission Plasticos, said a double mastectomy and reconstruction surgery could cost someone around $100,000 without financial assistance. Damn!! But that wasn’t the case for Morgan once she connected with the organization. Williamson added:
“None of these things are accessible, and it’s strange, and I don’t understand it, and it should be. The mastectomy Morgan had, it’s preventative. Now she won’t get cancer, and it won’t cost the insurance company hundreds of thousands of dollars for cancer treatment, surgeries and chemo and radiation.”
Not only did Kyle connect Morgan with Mission Plasticos, but the television personality was helping her get her story out. She was seen in photos published by People with a film crew and the Wilder Days artist’s mom, Robin, creating a documentary covering her mastectomy journey. See HERE.
Wow. It sounds like Kyle was truly there for Morgan throughout this process! And now, one month following the procedure, Morgan shared that she is still getting used to her new look — which does not include nipples right now. FYI, she is deciding between getting 3D nipples or tattooing ones onto her implants. But for now, Morgan is taking the time to adjust to her body:
“Everything was gone. That was probably the weirdest part for me. I didn’t think I would care, but then when you go and you look in the mirror at yourself, it was just a lot to take in. I’m still processing how different my body looks in that regard. As tough as it is to look in the mirror right now for me… [the scars will] heal up and it’ll be good. If you would’ve asked me a day after I did this, I would’ve been like, ‘Screw all of you. Why the hell did I do this?’ But now it’s helped me see things way differently.”
We’re sending a ton of healing energy as she continues to recover! Reactions, Perezcious readers? Let us know in the comments.
[Image via Morgan Wade/Instagram, Bravo/YouTube]