Why Angelina Jolie had a double mastectomy
Angelina Jolie has revealed that she had a double mastectomy. The actress carries a gene that significantly increases the risk of developing breast cancer.
“I had a double mastectomy”. 37-year-old American actress Angelina Jolie said she had surgery to remove both of her breasts. The Hollywood star explained in a column entitled "My medical choice" published Tuesday in the New York Times to be the carrier of a defective gene that increases the risk of breast and ovarian cancer. But why this choice so radical?
The actress actually carries a mutation in the BRCA1 or BRCA2 gene. "These two genes help repair the damage that DNA regularly suffers," explains a document from the National Cancer Institute (INCA). The presence of mutations in one of these two genes disrupts this function and greatly increases the risk of breast and ovarian cancer.
For the breast, the risk of developing cancer varies from 40% to 80% over the course of a lifetime, depending on the studies, the type of gene involved, the family history of breast cancer, and age. It is estimated that 2 in 1000 women are carriers of this mutation. Angelina Jolie's mom died six years ago of breast cancer at the age of 56. The choice of the actress is therefore preventive.
Thus, on April 27, the American actress completed the three months of medical protocol related to the operation. And performed breast reconstruction. Now her risk of developing breast cancer is less than 5%. The actress and Brad Pitt had three children and adopted three more. “I can tell my kids that they don't need to be afraid of losing me to breast cancer anymore,” she writes with relief.
Yet Angelina Jolie regrets that testing for the BRCA1 gene and the other defective BRCA2 gene costs more than $ 3,000 in the United States and that this "remains an obstacle for many women".
She hopes that women who live under the threat of cancer will be able to get tested. “If I'm writing about this today, it's because I hope other women can benefit from my experience. Life is full of many challenges. Those who should not scare us are the ones we can face and control, ”she concludes.
In the United States, thousands of young girls carrying this genetic anomaly have this preventive removal of both breasts. This technique is part of the medical recommendations. The benefit is maximum if the intervention is carried out before the age of 40.
In France, if there is no official recommendation, the proposed solutions are less radical than on the other side of the Atlantic. The care is organized, coordinated and led by a referring physician working in a multidisciplinary team taking care of hereditary forms of cancer. Specialists recommend regular monitoring from the age of 20 and breast radiological monitoring from the age of 30. It consists of performing, over a period not exceeding 2 months, a mammogram, an ultrasound in case of dense breasts, and an MRI examination. there is no time limit for this clinical follow-up. The same is true for imaging screening. But "not all women with these genetic mutations will one day develop breast cancer," says the Inca. As a reminder, 5 to 10% of breast cancers are hereditary.
