I have had a preventive double mastectomy, celebrated actress Angelina Jolie confessed in My Medical Choice in the New York Times. The gene she inherited from her mother made her an estimated 90% chance of developing breast cancer. The Hollywood star decided to take matters into her own hands. The decision was made – amputation.
In her very personal text, Angelina Jolie tells the story of a mother who died at the age of 56 after a long battle with ovarian cancer. «We often talk about ‘mommy’s mother’ and I try to explain to the children the disease that took her away from us. My children asked if the same thing could happen to me. I always told them not to worry, but the truth is, I am a carrier of the ‘defective’ BRCA1 gene, which greatly increases the risk of developing breast and ovarian cancer »writes Jolie.
Celebrities who have had a mastectomy
According to the statistics of the World Health Organization, breast cancer causes death every year to almost 460. women – mainly from medium and underdeveloped countries. The actress, who has been involved in charity actions for many years, wants to draw attention to this problem by explaining her choice. “Our priority must be to ensure that all women, wherever they live and whatever their financial situation, have access to genetic testing and preventive treatments that can save their lives,” she said. Unfortunately, testing for the presence of BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes costs over 3. dollars, which is why many women cannot afford them.
Jolie is not the first celebrity who decided to preventively amputate both breasts. Before her, such an operation was performed by the wife of the famous vocalist and juror of the American “Got Talent!” – Sharon Osbourne. “I had cancer before and I didn’t want to live with the knowledge that I could get cancer again,” she explained her decision. A similar comment was made by one of the candidates for Miss America, Allyn Rose, whose mother died of cancer. «Breasts do not define my femininity. I choose life instead of beauty “, Miss Washington, only 24, said in an interview with Fox TV.
The preventive mastectomy procedure is becoming more and more popular also among “ordinary” women. Recently, the Daily Mail reported the case of three British women from the same family who, after detecting the BRACA2 gene, decided to have their breast removed. Moreover, the ladies went a step further and had their ovaries and fallopian tubes removed as well, to exclude the risk of developing cancer of these organs as well.
Doctors emphasize that mastectomy is a serious procedure that is not indifferent to the body. Therefore, the decision to implement it should be well thought out. Most specialists emphasize that if a patient has genes that increase the risk of cancer, it should first of all be regularly tested. If a woman remembers this, a possible tumor will be detected at a very early stage and it is probably enough to use a lumpectomy, i.e. a procedure to remove the tumor itself and the surrounding tissue.
As the latest research proves, in most cases, deciding to undergo such a risky surgery as mastectomy does not have to be more effective than traditional lumpectomy. While in the cases described above, where a rare gene increases the risk of disease to 70%, often even 90%, this does not apply to the majority of women who undergo preventive mastectomy.
During a 20-year research project involving over 2,5 people, women, doctors found that in most cases of breast cancer, lumpectomy was as effective as double amputation. Findings by doctors at the University of Pittsburgh and the Italian Cancer Institute even provoked a group of UK women to seek compensation from hospitals, which they said had completely amputated after diagnosing cancer prematurely, when other options were still available.
Italian researchers studying a group of sick women who did not inherit BRCA genes showed that of the 701 subjects, half of whom opted for mastectomy and half went to classical radiotherapy with lumpectomy, unfortunately a quarter of each group died of breast cancer after 20 years after treatment. Similar conclusions can be drawn from the American report, where among 1851 patients, the survival results were very similar, regardless of the choice. Interestingly, the third group that decided to perform only a lumpectomy, without radiation therapy, also had a similar survival rate, but the cases of tumor recurrence in the area from which it had previously been excised were much more frequent at that time.
With 51 thousand. breast cancer removal operations, which took place in Great Britain in the years 2000-2001, about 15 thousand. was mastectomy procedures. As Delyth Morgan, head of the largest organization in England that deals with the prevention of breast cancer, says in an interview with the Daily Mail: “It is extremely important that a woman has a choice. If studies show that partial amputation with radiotherapy is in most cases as effective as lumpectomy, patients should know about it ». Of course, some women decide to take this step not only for purely medical reasons, but also for psychological reasons, feeling more secure then. This radical procedure is usually chosen by those who have had a family history of breast cancer. For these women, preventive mastectomy is often not only prophylactic but also therapeutic. Remembering the pain of their relatives, they want to avoid suffering at all costs. Women orphaned in childhood also want to spare their children the suffering. Preventive mastectomy allows such people to live without fear.
The same thread is pointed out by Angelina Jolie, who emphasizes the importance of conscious choice and knowledge about her medical situation. «I hope this helps any woman reading this to understand that she has a choice. I want to encourage every woman, especially if she has had a family history of breast or ovarian cancer, to seek information from specialists who can help »- appeals the actress. However, bearing in mind the findings of scientists, we should not act too rashly. Perhaps most importantly, however, any decision, no matter what, should not deprive a woman of self-confidence. Brad Pitt, who supported his wife through a three-month, multi-step process of surgery, also contributed to a rapid recovery from a successful mastectomy. «He was with me every minute. We also found moments to laugh together. We knew it was the right thing for our family and that it would bring us closer. And it happened, »writes Angelina. «I don’t feel less feminine. I have the impression that this decision gave me strength ». Let us therefore have the courage to fight for our health, but also let us be careful to analyze all possible options well.