Jenna Wolfe is concentrating on her recuperation.
In an Instagram post on Tuesday, the former NBC anchor, 49, announced that she had a mastectomy after testing positive for the BRCA-1 breast cancer gene. Wolfe received the operation as her second therapy after undergoing a hysterectomy in March.
“I had a mastectomy. All that remains now is rehabilitation and healing… The most crucial aspect. “The hardest part,” Wolfe wrote with a photo of herself in a hospital bed.
“I FaceTimed with my kids tonight, and the little said to me, ‘You always say we can do hard things, mama,'” the mother-of-two wrote. Now we’re saying the same thing to you. You’ve got it. We adore you.”
Wolfe also lauded her mother in her Instagram story, saying she “just beat” stage 3 breast cancer and was sleeping on the couch next to her when she was in the hospital.
“I’m a lucky girl,” she continued, posting a video of herself in the early hours of the morning.
The former Today Show correspondent ended her health update by saying she was “heading home” and posting a photo of herself seated on a chair in casual wear.
“It’s finally time to heal… everything,” she wrote.
Wolfe revealed in an Instagram post that she chose the surgeries after discovering she carried the gene in February.
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“About a month ago, I tested positive for the BRCA-1 breast cancer gene (which means my chances of developing breast and ovarian cancer are… well… really high),” she explained. “Without many options, I faced my fears, took a deep breath, and chose two major surgeries.”
“This is my first hysterectomy.” It’s not fun, easy, or nice (I’m afraid of needles), but it’s something I have to do,” Wolfe explained. “The second, larger procedure, will take place in two weeks. I’d be happy to share more with anyone going through a similar experience.”
BCRA1 and BCRA2 are genes that create proteins that aid in the repair of damaged DNA, according to the National Cancer Institute. When a person inherits damaging versions of one of the two genes, they are at a higher risk of developing numerous types of cancer, including breast and ovarian cancer.
According to the institute’s website, “people who have inherited a harmful variant in BRCA1 and BRCA2 also tend to develop cancer at younger ages than people who do not have such a variant.”
