Here's the story of brave 29-year-old Stephaine Germino from United States' Florida.
A woman from Florida has shared her story about why she removed both of her breats. The 29-year-old has revealed about her shocking decision to have a double mastectomy at the young age of 28 last year. Here's the story of brave Stephaine Germino from United States' Florida.
1. History of breast cancer in her family
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Stephanie Germino claimed she decided to have the procedure after discovering she had the BRCA1 gene mutation, which increased her risk of getting breast cancer.
In a recent interview with the Sun, Germino said that she was already aware about the history of breast cancer in her family because her maternal grandmother suffered with it twice. She recalled being "very emotional, but didn't take it as a death sentence" after learning the results.
2. Stephaine's higher chances of getting breast cancer
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It wasn't really a difficult decision for Germino to have the double mastectomy because she stated that she didn't see her breasts as a sign of femininity. The National Cancer Institute estimates that 13% of women will experience breast cancer at some point in their lives, while 55% to 72% of women who acquire the BRCA1 variant will experience breast cancer by the time they are 70 to 80 years old. Germino calculated that she had an 87% likelihood of getting breast cancer based on additional genetic factors.
3. Mother of 6-year-old underwent mastectomy
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Mother of 6-year-old Josiah, Germino claimed that she breastfed her son when he was a baby and felt as though her breasts had "served their purpose." With her partner, Diana, by her side, the courageous young woman underwent the double mastectomy last year.
4. Stephaine becomes 'The Boobless Babe'
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Germino then embraced her new flat chest as proof that the procedure was successful. I made the decision to go flat because I thought it would make me more comfortable. Germino is celebrating her new body almost a year after the surgery, and she even changed her Instagram handle to @theebooblessbabe.
5. 'Most confident I've ever been': Stephaine post-surgery
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She is now educating people about the BRCA1 gene mutation and urging other women to get tested, which only requires a quick blood sample to be examined in a lab. Germino said, "It does take a while to get used to something this big, but honestly I'm the most confident I've ever been now that I'm flat. I feel like the real deal bada**".
