Sara Tenenbein, 30, was a 28year-old newlywed of three months when she tested positive for the BRAC1 gene. Photo courtesy of Sara Tenenbein
Woman makes life-altering decision after testing positive for BRCA1 By Katelyn Gendron
For Sara Tenenbein, 30, a wellness coach, writer and founder of the blog Me, Redone, in Los Angeles, Calif., the decision to remove her breasts after testing positive for the BRCA1 gene was not about surrendering her femininity but ensuring the quality of her life.
Tenenbein was a 28-year-old newlywed living with her husband, comedian Steve Hofstetter, in New York City, when she decided to undergo genetic testing due to her mother’s battle with breast cancer. She knew a positive result would mean an 87 percent chance of being diagnosed with breast cancer at some point during her lifetime.
“For me it wasn’t about avoiding her expe-
rience, it was going to the hospital every few months. I’d lay there for an MRI for 45 minutes. The anxiety and the waiting was just too much. It was a lifestyle choice for me. I wanted to have the surgery on my own time and the aesthetic outcome can be beautiful,” Tenenbein recalled.
The beautiful outcome, she was quick to note, was not without intense physical and emotional pain throughout the three-surgery, 12-month processes at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York.
“Recovery from the mastectomy [the first surgery] is not that hard but the reconstruction [the second and third surgeries] is hell on earth. It’s exceptionally painful,” she explained, noting that tissue expanders are needed to stretch the skin
after the mastectomy in order to make room for the breast implants.
“They look like alien boobs,” she said of the tissue expanders. “For a while you look like you have a really bad boob job.”
When asked how the experience affected her marriage, Tenenbein replied, “I said [to him], ‘I’m a lemon. I’m so sorry. We’re just three months into marriage.’ But I’m incredibly lucky that I married a 6-foot-4 husband who [didn’t mind] sleeping on the love seat at the hospital.
“For any single women out there, it’s a great way to weed out assholes,” she added with a chuckle. “If you are going through this with your partner, they are not going to understand the emotional aspect
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