Angelina Jolie Announces She Had Double Mastectomy

[methodwriter85]

Angelina Jolie Reveals She Had Double Mastectomy

I think it's pretty interesting that someone as young and as widely known as Jolie got the procedure done and was pretty open about it. Bravo to Jolie for raising awareness about this.

I first heard about women (and men) getting this done a couple of years ago...Nip/Tuck even had a plot about it. It is really awesome to see how medical advances in genectic testing have brought us to the point of being able to make some really informed decisions about our health. I read an interesting book once about the history of treating breast cancer

It definitely makes me wonder about what I'd do if I were in the same position- like let's say, I get a test, and it tells me that it's 90 percent likely that I'd get testicular cancer or prostate cancer.  Would I get that removed, or would I take my chances?

Have any of you had a similiar kind of dilemna, or know people who had?

 

[hh5]

My co-worker had a cancer nodule between his brain and ear ... he had to choose to live to see his children grow by removing the cancer

While he was away from his position I and other co-workers took part in doing his chores ... it was a good thing that we all learn the responsibility together ... our boss kept an eye on our co-worker ... especially when he took part in a corporate marathon

[Arpeggio]

I had corrective surgery on my legs growing up from cerebral palsy so I wouldn't have to walk heel toe but it only fixed one leg really. I could do the surgery again so I can get walk completely normal (not that I walk strangely) but there's a large chance it could disable me so I don't. I think what Angelina did was tough but I'd probably do the same thing in her shoes.

[MikeL]

I agree that she made the right decision.  A cancer diagnosis (or near certainty of a future diagnosis as Angelina Jolie faced) frequently leaves the patient with a choice between surgery and watchful waiting (frequent testing and long term monitoring).  The younger the patient, the more appropriate radical surgery is.

 

My father was diagnosed with prostate cancer at age 80.  He opted for watchful waiting and eventually died of another disease.  I was diagnosed with prostate cancer the same year at age 55, relatively young for prostate cancer.  I opted for radical surgery and, although the surgery didn't cure me, have lived nearly 16 very good years, which is probably 10 years longer than expected.

[rustle]

When my mom was in ger 40s, she had a radical mastectomy, due a malignancy discovered in a biopsy. She didn't have reconstruction, but lived with a gnarly scar for alll those years. Rehab was tough, but she never regretted the procedure.

 

A male friend of mine had to have a mastectomy, too. He's lived for several years, now.

 

As Mike said, though, the decision isn't to be made in a vacuum. It affects your life, and your life determines the better choice.

[Andy78]

Although I have always worked predominantly in paediatric oncology, I have spent time in other cancer areas.

 

A risk-reducing mastectomy is just that, risk-reducing.  In the UK we used to call it prophylactic mastectomy, but since the risk is only reduced not eliminated we changed the name.

 

We had a case last year where a woman had undergone risk-reducing mastectomy a few years previous, and she still developed breast cancer.

 

Carriers of the faulty BRCA genes are also at an increased risk of ovarian cancer and pancreatic cancer.  Risk-reducing surgery is possible for the ovaries (and actually reduces the lifetime risk of ovarian cancer down to about 1%), but there is no current accepted risk-reducing surgery for the pancreas.

 

Just because someone is a carrier of the faulty gene does not mean that they will develop a cancer.  Everyone needs to keep in mind that over 80% of breast cancer diagnoses occur in women who are not gene carriers.

 

Risk-reducing surgery of any description is not something to be undertaken lightly.  Here in the UK, anyone who decides to undergo elective risk-reducing mastectomy or risk-reducing oophorectomy (removal of the ovaries), has to be cleared medically by both their surgeon and a psychologist.

[C J]

I'm not sure about doing surgery based on some kind of genetic test.  Genetic science hasn't made enough progress.  Every gene controls several things, and they still don't know enough about it to be claiming they do know.  According to the government, the mutated gene that increases the risk of getting breast cancer could also increase the same risk for the uterus, cervix, colon, pancreas, stomach, gallbladder, bile duct and skin.  I think I'm going to forget about having a doctor remove organs because I might have an increased risk of cancer in them.  At this rate, the only thing I'd have left is a skeleton, and that's just not enough to keep me happy, except maybe on halloween. 

[Thorn Wilde]

My grandmother had breast cancer. She had a mastectomy and only has one breast now. I always thought it looked funny when I saw her in her nighty when I was a kid...

[sat8997]

If I have a mutated gene that indicates I probably have an 87% chance of developing breast cancer - even if it's at some imaginary point in the future - and I can reduce that percentage dramatically by removing my breasts now, then I am removing my breasts - perfectly healthy tissue - as fast as possible.

[methodwriter85]

If I have a mutated gene that indicates I probably have an 87% chance of developing breast cancer - even if it's at some imaginary point in the future - and I can reduce that percentage dramatically by removing my breasts now, then I am removing my breasts - perfectly healthy tissue - as fast as possible.

 

I remember watching a news special that followed a family who had a lot of members that carried the gene. One woman basically said, "I have had my two children and nursed them. My breasts have served their purpose, and they're going." I liked her attitude about it.

[writeincode]

I remember watching a news special that followed a family who had a lot of members that carried the gene. One woman basically said, "I have had my two children and nursed them. My breasts have served their purpose, and they're going." I liked her attitude about it.

I think I watched the same news special.

 

That would be my attitude now- if I found out that I carried the gene I would wait until I have the children that I want so that I could feed them and then I'd have the procedure. I'd have a reconstruction afterwards- they look pretty real.

 

I think you need to assess your risk for all procedures. Even some diagnostic procedures have risks (x-rays, colonoscopies) so if you're not in a high risk group of the population for the disease then maybe getting tested isn't the best idea IMHO.