For the first time in 25 years, Nina Garcia will be skipping New York Fashion Week – and her reason why is an intensely personal one.
On Thursday, the Elle editor-in-chief revealed that she’ll be watching the biannual event at home while “recovering from a preventative double mastectomy.”
The longtime “Project Runway” judge detailed her difficult choice in an emotional editor’s essay, admitting to her readers that she’s had a tough time putting her health journey into words.
“I’ve been confronting my emotions and keep asking myself the same few questions,” Nina wrote. “Am I scared? Yes. Am I relieved? Yes. Am I making the right choice? Absolutely.”
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Nina’s struggle – which she dubbed her “battle of the boobs” – began in 2015, when she got genetic testing to check for BRCA mutations, which are known to increase the risk of breast cancer. When her test results came back, she learned she was positive for a mutation of the BARD1 gene – a revelation which made her path forward a confusing one.
“Doctors think [the BARD1 gene mutation] increases cancer risk, but there isn’t enough data to know by how much,” Nina wrote. “Even though I had amazing genetic counseling and many supportive doctors, there has been no clear direction as to what I should do.”
For more than three years after her discovery, the fashion journalist was monitored by doctors as she weighed her options, undergoing “numerous biopsies, two lumpectomies, and countless follow-ups.” Ultimately, she and her care team decided that a preventative double mastectomy was the best choice – but choosing her path forward didn’t make things easier.
“Surprisingly, the days following my decision were the darkest,” Nina confessed. “It wasn’t until then that I realized how lonely and overwhelming the past few months had been. … I worried about my kids, how to tell everyone at work, and the prospect of being out of the office during one of the most hectic times of the year,” she added. “I didn’t know how people would react, and I feared I would look weak.”
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Fatefully, Nina turned to a friend who had also undergone a mastectomy. The pal urged her to not shoulder the entire burden of her fight and instead find support in others.
The 53-year-old took the advice to heart. She soon opened up about her journey to a wide community of women, who gave her the “strength and guidance” to take her battle “head on.
“For the first time in years, a dark cloud lifted, and I felt a sense of relief and clarity about my choice,” Nina wrote.
The reality TV personality closed her powerful letter with a message to other women fighting the same fight.
“I ultimately decided to write this in hopes that my story might serve as comfort to at least one woman out there who is going through something similar,” she wrote. “For that woman, I want you to know that you are not alone. And while I may be having a hard time feeling brave at this very minute, I know that my sisters will be waiting for me on the other side, ready to put me back together again.”