44 | OCTOBER 13 • 2022 

WOMEN’S HEALTH

I

t was a tough moment when Lauren 
Willens, 34, of Bloomfield Hills 
discovered she had a BRCA1 (Breast 
Cancer gene 1) gene mutation in 2018.
“Both of my parents died at young 
ages from cancer. When my husband, 
David, and I were married and trying to 
conceive, as an Ashkenazi Jewish couple, 
before getting pregnant, we underwent 
routine genetic screening. 
“We were planning on only undergoing 
a routine screening panel, however, 
David, who is a physician, and our 
genetic counselor convinced me, after 
reviewing my family history, to pursue a 
more robust cancer screening panel,” she 
added. “I was very hesitant and scared 
to learn what I was carrying in my body. 
Unfortunately, a few weeks later (and on 
the last day of our honeymoon), David 
and I learned that I had the BRCA1 
mutation.”
Willens said, “At the time I received my 
results, I was 30 years old and shocked. 
We had just been married, and I already 
had a healthy son from a prior marriage. 
My BRCA1 diagnosis hit me as hard as 
a cancer diagnosis because it made it a 
sure thing that I would have cancer — we 
just didn’t know when. I felt like a ticking 
time bomb.” 
She would later learn that this result 
is not uncommon as 1 in 40 Ashkenazi 
Jewish women will have a BRCA gene 
mutation.
After losing her parents at such a 
young age, Willens was very clear in 
what decision came next for her and her 

growing family. The couple would decide 
to proactively go through IVF to screen 
their embryos using preimplantation 
genetic testing (PGT). This way, the 
couple could rest easy knowing that they 
were not perpetuating the cycle of these 
genetic statics. 
Dr. Esther Zekman, an OB/GYN in 
Farmington Hills, says with modern 
medical technology, they have the ability 
to detect gene mutation. Preimplantation 
genetic diagnosis or PGT can detect if an 
embryo has a gene mutation. “Then we 
would implant the embryo that doesn’t 
carry the gene that their mother or father 
has,” Zekman said. 
The couple chose to implant a female 
embryo. “I felt so empowered to know 
that my children would not have to face 
the questions and fears of receiving a 
genetic diagnosis,” Willens said. 
Their daughter, Stella, was born 
beautiful and healthy on Jan. 29, 2020. 
“While I would have loved any child 
that I would be lucky enough to carry, 
I am so grateful that modern science 
allowed me to have a daughter, Stella, 
that I can confidently look at and say, 
you’re not going to get breast cancer,” she 
said.
Zekman said that as an OB/GYN, 
she recommends genetic screening, 
particularly in the Ashkenazi population 
for BRAC1, 2 and Lynch syndrome 
because there can be implications for 
women’s ovaries, breasts and uterus.
For those with the gene, Zekman 
recommends for ovaries to be removed 

Meet Lauren Willens, who used genetic screening to 
prevent passing on cancerous genes to her children.

RACHEL SWEET ASSOCIATE EDITOR

TOP TO BOTTOM: David and Lauren on their wedding day in May 2018. David and Lauren during 
their maternity photoshoot in November 2019. Lauren ringing the bell after completing all the 
infusion treatments with her nurse at Henry Ford Cancer Institute May 2022. The Willens family 
picture during Rosh Hashanah 2022.

 the 
Next Generation

