Women hail Jolie's mastectomy revelation

Confusing. So she is have a double breast removal because her mother died of ovarian cancer? Why is she not having her ovaries removed?

@Wakarimasen - she has said that she will do so, later on.

She is statistically much more likely to get breast cancer (87% risk) than ovarian (50% risk) , according to her doctors, which is why she opted to have the greater risk dealt with first.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-22520720

My hats off, and heart's out, to this woman.

Gene patents are absurd and should be ignored. I'm going to patent oxygen and water.

Wakarimasen: Confusing. So she is have a double breast removal because her mother died of ovarian cancer? Why is she not having her ovaries removed?

Maria. @Wakarimasen - she has said that she will do so, later on. She is statistically much more likely to get breast cancer (87% risk) than ovarian (50% risk) , according to her doctors, which is why she opted to have the greater risk dealt with first.

Physically, the mastectomy is the harder surgery to recover from. This was also reported to factor in her decision.

Hope the knockers come back strong with the best plastic surgery money can buy. Oh, and hoping for the best following this difficult decision.

I wish her the best! Such a brave woman. As an actress, this must be devestating for her. As a woman, it must be mentally devesating as well. I hope other women can find strength is seeking tratment not only for breast cancer, but any type of illness specifically for women.

Good on Angelina Jolie! She is not only doing it for herself, her dead mother, but more all the women in the world who may also come down with breast cancer! My kudos to her!

I guess she should be glad she didn't have a high risk for bone cancer. It would suck opting to have all your bones surgically removed in order to virtually eliminate the risk of cancer.

(Can you tell I'm not a fan of people who lop-off parts of their body based on what MIGHT happen?)

I'm confused why she did this as, unlike Christina Applegate, she did NOT have breast cancer. Based solely on her family history, she decided to have healthy tissue removed. My family has a strong history of heart disease, but I haven't asked my doctor to schedule a heart transplant.

How is this any sort of inspiration to other women? Very, very few women can afford to have a double masectomy & breast reconstruction as a preventative measure. Insurance (at least in the US) doesn't pay for procedures that are not required (i.e., required because of existing cancer, not potential cancer).

Also wonder about the ethics of any doctor that would remove healthy tissue as a preventative measure. Risk of complications from surgery may be less than risk of developing breast cancer, but still....

Based solely on her family history, she decided to have healthy tissue removed. My family has a strong history of heart disease, but I haven't asked my doctor to schedule a heart transplant.

Not based solely on family history; tests showed that she does have the faulty gene that gives her a much higher chance of developing breast cancer. Still, like you say, she decided to have healthy tissue removed. Not very inspirational, and not something I would be happy doing.

I'm surprised at those of you who question her decision. She's gone from an 87% risk of cancer, to <5%.

You think it's more sensible to wait until she gets sick before having the mastectomy? Why?

You think it's more sensible to wait until she gets sick before having the mastectomy?

More sensible? No. Just not something I would find it easy to do. Call it denial if you will.

A friend of mine was recently diagnosed with breast cancer. She has had a mastectomy, undergone chemo and all kinds of other not very pleasant treatments, and next month goes for tests to see if the cancer has spread. I am amazed at how stoic she is about the whole thing, and I have immense respect for her and the strength of character she has shown. I don't think I would be as dignified if it were me standing in her shoes.

Well, I really doubt she found it easy to do! Who would?

But, she's seen the very likely and very terrible outcome of not removing 80%of the risk along with her breasts - death before 60.

I imagine that she weighed up the options, and decided that even if she survived cancer, dealing with it would mean years of debilitating treatment, depressing hospital stays, a disrupted family life that would be focussed on her sickness and not on their future together.

A admirable woman, for understanding that she is much, much more than a pair of naturally-grown tits.

I can tell you that my sister-in-law had the test, it was negative, and she ended up with cancer within a year - stage 3 before they caught it. Thankfully she seems to be fine now. My MiL died of ovarian cancer and her sister from breast cancer so my wife had the test and it came back negative - fingers crossed.

Reading up on the test and the treatment the surgery is no guarantee that cancer won't develop. There has to be a lot of extra screening done to make sure something doesn't slip through.

Still, I think she made a rational decision. Our niece just did the same thing a month ago. It's much easier if the cancer isn't already on the rampage. Perhaps Ms. Jolie will help other women make hard decisions that save their own lives.