Elle Editor Nina Garcia can relate to Angelina Jolie for this deeply personal reason

While Elle’s Editor-in-Chief, Nina Garcia, is typically sitting at the front-row of prominent shows during New York Fashion Week, this time proves to be different. The fashion editor and Project Runway judge shared a personal piece on Elle’s website where she reveals she will be “be watching from the sidelines at home, recovering from a preventive double mastectomy.” In the piece titled A Personal Choice, Nina explains that in 2015 she discovered she has the BRCA mutation – meaning she’s at a high-risk level for breast cancer. A week after World Cancer Day, when other stars like Maluma have stood up in solidarity with those fighting the terrible disease, Garcia finds courage to share her journey.

Nina Garcia opened up about her double mastectomy through a personal letter on Elle's website

"So, for three-plus years, I've been closely monitored, getting regular mammograms and breast checks," she wrote. "Throughout this time, I've had numerous biopsies, two lumpectomies, and countless follow-ups. I've been marked up, poked, pricked, and turned upside down (literally!). None of the results were terrible, but there were signs-radial scars, a cluster of microcalcifications, the presence of precancerous cells-which could serve as premonitions for what might happen."

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Back in 2013, Angelina Jolie also made the brave decision to undergo a double mastectomy as a preventive measure, followed by the removal of her ovaries and fallopian tubes in 2015. In a deeply personal essay for The New York Times, the mom-of-six revealed she had entered early menopause. She added, “The beautiful thing about such moments in life is that there is so much clarity. You know what you live for and what matters. It is polarizing, and it is peaceful."

Nina will star in the new season of Project Runway alongside Brandon Maxwell and Elaine Welteroth

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Nina, who hails from Colombia, also shared her sympathy for the women who don’t have access to the same resources as her. She wrote, “I realize I’m incredibly privileged to be where I am today. I have options and insurance and access to the best medical care. My heart is heavy for the millions of other women out there who are not as lucky. Who do not have insurance or the means to get tested, or who don’t have access to the latest technology. She continued, “As an immigrant, I’m also hyperaware that there are women around the world who have no access to mammograms and are unnecessarily dying of breast cancer.”