They make crucial decisions that they hope will spare them from cancers that claimed their mothers and grandmothers.

The project had its genesis when Director Jonathan Silvers' wife tested positive for the Breast Cancer 1 mutation (BRCA). Given her family's history of cancer, she underwent a prophylactic double mastectomy and bilateral oophorectomy (i.e., ovary removal). The pain she endured was temporary. The permanent reduction in her lifetime cancer risk motivated Jon to probe the issue in a film on the expanding science of genetics in cancer prevention. But when production began, he quickly realized the film’s narrative power resided in women making use of genetic science at a crucial time in their lives.

The film’s principals include:

Alejandra Campoverdi, the film’s producer and a BRCA2 carrier. Virtually all of her female ancestors and relatives on her maternal side have endured breast cancer. This toll led Alejandra to research and identify the specific genetic mutation that has plagued the women of her Mexican American family for five generations. After testing positive for the BRCA2 mutation, Alejandra elected to have a double mastectomy. Just days after she was discharged from the hospital, Alejandra learned that a biopsy taken during surgery tested positive for ductile cancer.

Lilith Costa is an African American mother of two. Breast cancer has run so rampant in her family that even her uncle has battled the disease. After testing positive for a genetic mutation, Lilith decided to undergo a grueling 12-hour surgery to reduce her risk, removing both her breasts, her fallopian tubes and her ovaries.

Bonnie Feuerman’s mother died in her early 40s of breast cancer that had metastasized. Her sister tested positive for BRCA a decade ago, but Bonnie refuses to take a genetic test, choosing to rely on intensive monitoring during her annual gynecological exam. Her father and sister worry that her refusal to know her BRCA status might prove disastrous.