Angelina Jolie and Her Mastectomy

Angelina Jolie has made a preventative decision to have her breasts removed rather than risk getting breast cancer in the future. Angie's mother died of ovarian cancer and it's been found that there's a gene that can predict your chances of getting breast or ovarian cancer in the future. Angelina took the test and found out that she had almost a 90% chance of someday being diagnosed with breast cancer or a 50% chance of developing ovarian cancer and she made a huge decision to have a preventative mastectomy.

That decision will make millions of other women think about their own chances of breast cancer, and many of them will do the same thing. Angelina Jolie found she does carry the BRCA1 gene and she didn't like the odds it gave her. Brad Pitt, her partner of many years, called her decision "absolutely heroic". He was with her every step of the way and said this was "a happy day for our family".

Find out more about BRCA1 here.

The testing to find out if you have this gene is about 3,000.00 and not every woman has that much money to spend, but if you did have that much money laying around would you spend it on this?

Photo Credit: Vera Kratochvil and this picture is in the Public Domain

But Angelina Has Always Surprised Us, Hasn't She.

Who ever thought you would hear that Angelina Jolie has her breasts removed, her healthy breasts? I never in a million years thought about that. What it tells us is that Angelina believes she is way more than her breasts and good for her, because she is. All women are. In a sexually pemissive society it doesn't always feel that way. Many people look at women as pieces of meat, and sometimes women themselves cannot imagine themselves without their breasts.

I am not one of those ladies. Don't get me wrong, I like my breasts ... for the most part. I had a lump many years ago when my 4 children were very young. I had to go visit a surgeon and before I went I had already made up my mind. Just take the damn thing, do whatever you have to do to get me healthy, free and clear of any problems. Thank goodness it wasn't as bad as I had imagined, but still I was forced to come to terms as to the value of my breasts at a rather early age. And I believe I made the right decision.

Today having a breast, or two, removed isn't as traumatic as it used to be. Women can have reconstructive breast surgery and look as good as ever. Some women choose to tattoo over their breast site, decorating the scarred area with bright colors and beautiful flowers. What ever works for each individual is the best answer, there is no one way to go.

If you found out you had the BRCA1 gene, what would you do? Would you have a double mastectomy or not? If you don't know what you would do, pick either answer and let us know that. I am sure not everyone will be able to decide right away. It certainly is a thought-provoking question.

What Would You Do If You Found Out You Had The BRCA1 Gene?