and allison gilbert knows them well, she lost her aunt, mother and grandmother to cancer. this is the article about how it impacts the way we raise our children. and allison joins me from new york with her doctor, who performed a mastectomy this summer. thank you for joining us. >> thank you. >> allison, i read the column that you wrote recently. it was quite striking, and i just wanted to share the opening of it. saying i'm not a helicopter parent, and i don't bake cup cakes, but readily would cut off my breasts for them and recently did. it really captures the attention, can you give us the story on what you meant by that? >> well, my kids are young, ten and 12, and i want to be around as long as possible for them. and i grew up as an older person. but certainly, i feel like i have grown up as an adult without my mom and dad. and i didn't want my kids to go through that. i want to be around for the day they get married, when they graduate high school even before that. and i thought the writing was on the wall with my family history. also, i tested positive for the brca ge

allison gilbert, dr.mark smith, thanks so much for joining us. >> thank you. >> thank you. >>> coming up, the astronaut who did the first triathlon in space. she raced against me wearing my number no less. she's next. [ lisa ] my name's lisa, and chantix helped me quit. i honestly loved smoking, and i honestly didn't think i would ever quit. [ male announcer ] along with support, chantix is proven to help people quit smoking. it reduces the urge to smoke. it put me at ease that you could smoke on the first week. [ male announcer ] some people had changes in behavior, thinking or mood, hostility, agitation, depressed mood and suicidal thoughts or actions while taking or after stopping chantix. if you notice any of these stop taking chantix and call your doctor right away. tell your doctor about any history of depression or other mental health problems, which could get worse while taking chantix. don't take chantix if you've had a serious allergic or skin reaction to it. if you develop these stop taking cha