Angelina Jolie has just revealed she has undergone a bilateral mastectomy to prevent breast cancer after discovering she was BRCA1. The actress, whose mother died of cancer at 56, said she had both breasts removed in a series of surgeries over three months and all complete on April 27th 2013. Angelina has shared that she had an 87 per cent risk of breast cancer and a 50 per cent risk of ovarian cancer. Angelina wrote a letter to the new york times to raise awareness and explain her decision. This is her letter:
My Medical Choice
By ANGELINA JOLIE
MY MOTHER fought cancer for almost a decade and died at 56. She held out long enough to meet the first of her grandchildren and to hold them in her arms. But my other children will never have the chance to know her and experience how loving and gracious she was.
We often speak of “Mommy’s mommy,” and I find myself trying to explain the illness that took her away from us. They have asked if the same could happen to me. I have always told them not to worry, but the truth is I carry a “faulty” gene, BRCA1, which sharply increases my risk of developing breast cancer and ovarian cancer.
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.
Only a fraction of breast cancers result from an inherited gene mutation. Those with a defect in BRCA1 have a 85 percent risk of getting it, on average.
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. I started with the breasts, as my risk of breast cancer is higher than my risk of ovarian cancer, and the surgery is more complex.
On April 27, I finished the three months of medical procedures that the mastectomies involved. During that time I have been able to keep this private and to carry on with my work.
But I am writing about it now because I hope that other women can benefit from my experience. Cancer is still a word that strikes fear into people’s hearts, producing a deep sense of powerlessness. But today it is possible to find out through a blood test whether you are highly susceptible to breast and ovarian cancer, and then take action.
My own process began on Feb. 2 with a procedure known as a “nipple delay,” which rules out disease in the breast ducts behind the nipple and draws extra blood flow to the area. This causes some pain and a lot of bruising, but it increases the chance of saving the nipple.
Two weeks later I had the major surgery, where the breast tissue is removed and temporary fillers are put in place. The operation can take eight hours. You wake up with drain tubes and expanders in your breasts. It does feel like a scene out of a science-fiction film. But days after surgery you can be back to a normal life.
Nine weeks later, the final surgery is completed with the reconstruction of the breasts with an implant. There have been many advances in this procedure in the last few years, and the results can be beautiful.
I wanted to write this to tell other women that the decision to have a mastectomy was not easy. But it is one I am very happy that I made. My chances of developing breast cancer have dropped from 87 percent to under 5 percent. I can tell my children that they don’t need to fear they will lose me to breast cancer.
It is reassuring that they see nothing that makes them uncomfortable. They can see my small scars and that’s it. Everything else is just Mommy, the same as she always was. And they know that I love them and will do anything to be with them as long as I can. On a personal note, I do not feel any less of a woman. I feel empowered that I made a strong choice that in no way diminishes my femininity.
I am fortunate to have a partner, Brad Pitt, who is so loving and supportive. So to anyone who has a wife or girlfriend going through this, know that you are a very important part of the transition. Brad was at the Pink Lotus Breast Center, where I was treated, for every minute of the surgeries. We managed to find moments to laugh together. We knew this was the right thing to do for our family and that it would bring us closer. And it has.
For any woman reading this, I hope it helps you to know you have options. I want to encourage every woman, especially if you have a family history of breast or ovarian cancer, to seek out the information and medical experts who can help you through this aspect of your life, and to make your own informed choices.
I acknowledge that there are many wonderful holistic doctors working on alternatives to surgery. My own regimen will be posted in due course on the Web site of the Pink Lotus Breast Center
Breast cancer alone kills some 458,000 people each year, according to the World Health Organization, mainly in low- and middle-income countries. It has got to be a priority to ensure that more women can access gene testing and lifesaving preventive treatment, whatever their means and background, wherever they live. The cost of testing for BRCA1 and BRCA2, at more than $3,000 in the United States
I choose not to keep my story private because there are many women who do not know that they might be living under the shadow of cancer. It is my hope that they, too, will be able to get gene tested, and that if they have a high risk they, too, will know that they have strong options.
Life comes with many challenges. The ones that should not scare us are the ones we can take on and take control of.
Angelina Jolie.
Since Angelina made her decision public it has, as expected been all over the news, internet and newpapers. Pink Hope have had a 700% increase with women looking into preventive surgery and finding Pink Hope. There has been an overwhelming response from the public, both positive and negative. Some of the negative comments have really offended or upset some of the women in the Pink Hope community, they have been hurt by comments regarding mutilation and self harm. I blame ignorance and fear for most of the comments. When someone fears something or don’t know much about something they express that in ways they shouldn’t. Some people completely disagree with Angelina’s choice and that is their opinion and they are entitled to that but to attack women who have already made that same choice or are about to undergo that surgery is just unfair. People really need to learn to actually read the facts, the information and put them selves into the same situation. Im not saying by them doing that it would change their mind, but it may change the words they use when they express their opinion.
I receive a phone call, its Jo. Jo is WA coordinator for Pink Hope. She says that since Angelina came out her phone has been ringing non stop. The papers trying to get stories. They want to interview Jo as its been nearly a year since her preventive mastectomy and they also want to interview me as im in the process of organizing my surgery. Me? Little old me? I was excited to share my story but most importantly raise awareness for this and for Pink Hope. They wanted an interview that day so it was a phone call interview and then a photographer to come to my house and take some photos. I rushed around to get the house tidy and then my face and hair nice. I was very nervous and had no idea what to expect. The phone interview was quite easy. I also sent an email with some information and my thoughts and feelings along with my family history and reasons behind my decision. The photos were done pretty quickly. Jo, the photographer and me had a good time trying to get good photos.
That weekend Jo’s story was published in the West Australian.I was told my article would be the weekend after and that whole week went so slow. Finally it was Saturday and Hubby raced off to the shop to pick up the paper.
This is my article
This is my article
Not far away in Perth
For as long as she can remember, Mrs Green has hated her breasts, seeing them as an enemy that could kill her.
She recalls her mother telling her, as a child, about her grandmother’s battle with breast cancer which she lost in 1977, aged 44.
When Mrs Green’s mother began gruelling chemotherapy and radiation treatment in 2010, the then 20-year-old started thinking about surgery to remove her breasts.
Like Hollywood star Angelina Jolie, who revealed this week she had the surgery to reduce her high breast cancer risk, both women will have preventive double mastectomies this year.
As a little girl, Mrs Green imagined what breast cancer looked like and who would be next in her family.
When she started developing her own breasts, she feared cancer was already in them.
At 24, and married with three children, Mrs Green said she was looking forward to losing her breasts as well as her fear of breast cancer.
“I just knew I had to do something,” she said. “I’m not scared about losing my breasts. I’ve hated them for as long as I can remember. I know they could betray me and turn on me. I don’t have the normal connection that women do with their breasts.”
After her mother’s diagnosis and an inconclusive genetic test, Mrs Green was referred to a high-risk breast clinic for close surveillance.
“I was my mum’s caregiver as she went through her journey and took her to her treatment,” she said.
“I couldn’t put my kids through that. It was so bad what she went through. I just felt helpless. There was nothing I could do for her.”
Mrs Green said her mother was declared cancer-free last month.
Having my article in the West Australian was great. Its not like me to be public and not shy about my personal life. I really just want to share my story to others in the same situation; I want to be inspiring to someone out there that needs to hear what i have to say. I look up to Jo Anderson, she is the WA head ambassador at Pink Hope. I hope to be as inspiring as she is one day.
I also had an article in the Australian Women’s Weekly magazine. I entered a competition through the website and wanted to make a difference to all the high risk women in Australia
Although they printed the wrong information by stating that I carried the BRCA gene, the story and reasoning was still made public, along with more awareness for Pink Hope.
I also raised $3,000 on my own for Pink Hope for their annual Bright Pink Lipstick Day 2013
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