Today, Angelina Jolie surprised us all by announcing she had a preventive double mastectomy. Jolie recently learned that she carries a
mutation of the BRCA1 gene, which sharply increases her risk of developing
breast cancer and ovarian cancer. Her mother died of ovarian cancer in 2007 at the age of 56.
"My doctors estimated that I had an 87
percent risk of breast cancer and a 50 percent risk of ovarian cancer, although
the risk is different in the case of each woman," Jolie declared in her New York Times op-ed article. "Once I knew that
this was my reality, I decided to be proactive and to minimize the risk as much
I could. I made a decision to have a preventive double mastectomy."
All of which got me thinking about my own family history.
My maternal grandmother was
in her mid-40's when she died of ovarian cancer.
My mother was 62 when an
annual mammogram revealed a lump of 1 cm. She is now a 16-year breast cancer survivor.
[My sister was about 50 when she had half of her thyroid removed, the cancerous half. I know that's not in the same category as breast and ovarian cancers, but it is still cancer.]
I
just had an all-clear at my annual mammogram and physical exams.
I haven't been tested for BRCA1 and BRCA2 gene status. My mother said hers was negative. My next question for my doctors will be, should I get tested?
I know many women who have battled breast cancer, certainly well within the 1 in 8 women. I remember so many of those women
having to decide whether to have a lumpectomy or a mastectomy. My mother, and
many others, survived breast cancer with a lumpectomy. Others had mastectomies.
My dear friend Laurel had a mastectomy when they discovered a very aggressive
cancer in her breast. She then had a preventative mastectomy for the other
breast. She still died of breast cancer. So did Mary my neighbor, and so many
more.
I found this excellent link regarding the pros and cons of
preventative mastectomies. http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/factsheet/Therapy/preventive-mastectomy
There is a lot to learn, and many factors to take into consideration.
Jolie's announcement will have a lot of women asking themselves important
questions. I hope they take all the facts into consideration before they
consider a double mastectomy. I wonder if preventive double mastectomies will
become as standardized as mammograms? That is, will doctors recommend them and
will insurance companies pay for them?
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