Previvor

I felt compelled to address this term after reading this post on a blog I recently discovered, written by a woman who is also BRCA+ and had a PBM (Prophylactic Bilateral Mastectomy) and reconstruction.  I'll probably use this term a lot, so let me explain it.  I'm not a survivor.  I've never had cancer, and I hope I never do.  My goal is to never have to call myself a survivor.  Instead, I am a previvor, a person with a predisposition to cancer.  According to FORCE (Facing Our Risk of Cancer Empowered):

What is a Previvor?

A previvor is a survivor of a predisposition to cancer.  The term specifically applies to the portion of our community that has its own needs and concerns separate from the general population, and different from those already diagnosed with cancer. Previvor was coined in 2000 after a challenge from a community member who said she “needed a label.”

In 2007, Time magazine declared the term #3 on their list of top 10 buzzwords of the year. Ten years after we created the term, Congress passed a resolution declaring September 29, 2010, Previvor Day, recognizing the unique challenges faced by women and men at high risk for cancer.