Breast cancer - Sensitive Information for Women

 Angelina Jolie shocked many people with an op-ed Tuesday telling her reasons for choosing to have a preventive double mastectomy. Jolie mother passed away at the age of fifty Six after battling ovarian cancer. Moreover, she found that, she had the BRCA1 gene, which extensively increases the lifetime risk of breast cancer. In fact, Jolie reports that her doctors estimated that she had an 87% chance of developing breast cancer. 

We have no doubt that this piece is causing many women over the country to think about their own health & chances of developing the disease. Thanks to successful organizations, for always doing some breast cancer awareness. A person of Jolie's stature publicly discussing such a personal & difficult decision will likely weigh on the minds of many women who have similar concerns. Breast cancer is an existent disease, it is not rare, and it can potentially strike almost anyone.  

In one sense, that’s a good thing. There are legitimate & real reasons for some women to consider a preventive, or prophylactic, mastectomy. A number of women who have had breast cancer in one breast elect to have a mastectomy of the other breast to prevent the cancer from spreading there. Few women, who have a family history of cancer, particularly before age 50, might consider the procedure.  

Very recently, women who have been able to learn during genetic test that, they have the BRCA1 or BRCA2 gene, both of which create it more likely that they might develop cancer, have given new information that may help them make a decision. It is a personal decision. It is also a serious one, due to there is downsides to a preventive mastectomy as well.  

It is still a major procedure, and it carries all the risks of one; one should not at all minimize the risks of a big operation. Breast cancer is also irreversible, & some women do suffer psychological or physical consequences afterward. No one can ever judge another woman's decision in this area, but it may serve individual patients poorly for doctors not to discuss with them both the potential harms as well as benefits.