Genetics plays an important role when it comes to breast cancer, especially as doctors learn more about the BRCA 1 and BRCA 2 genes. But for one mother and daughter duo, their battles with breast cancer are a bit more unusual. "Overwhelming. Kind of disbelief I think. I think we didn't believe it at the beginning," said Kim Palmateer, a mother of two adult daughters who was recently diagnosed with breast cancer.Heather Clay and her mom, Kim, were both diagnosed with breast cancer within eight months of each other. Clay was diagnosed in Dec. 2016 at just 35 years old. She also tested positive for the BRCA 2 gene mutation. "It goes from a high to a low within moments sometimes and I think it's really important just to have faith in yourself and in the team of people that's taking care of you," Clay said. Clay chose to have a bilateral mastectomy and other surgeries making her unable to have biological children, but preventing her from getting ovarian cancer. Thankfully, she had her mother's support through it all. "Heartbreaking. There can be nothing more heartbreaking than watching your child, daughter or son, go through something as frightening and life changing as this," Palmateer said. But as her daughter recovered, the family's battle with breast cancer was just beginning. In August, Palmateer was also diagnosed with breast cancer at 63-years-old. However, she does not carry the BRCA gene mutation and then there's Clay's younger sister who has also undergone genetic testing and is now dealing with her results. "For Heather and her mom and her family now, ya know, it's very unlikely that any of them will die from cancer because they're choosing to do interventions to prevent that from happening to them," Dr. Marilyn Raymond, medical director at the breast center at Good Samaritan Medical Center, said. Raymond is also Clay and Palmateer's medical oncologist. She said their cases show the complexity between genetics and cancer. It's unusual for a daughter to be diagnosed before a mother and only one of them to have the gene mutation. But for Clay and Palmateer, they only have one simple message for women. "Take care of yourself. Your family needs you, your friends need you. You, need you," Palmateer said. Clay is currently celebrating nine months being cancer-free. Her mother will undergo surgery in the coming months to remove her breast cancer. Clay's younger sister is deciding the next step to take following her genetic test results.