One of the world's most famous actresses, Angelina Jolie, revealed in a column she wrote for The New York Times that she underwent a double mastectomy.
Jolie indicated that she inherited the breast cancer carrier gene from her mother and that she had almost a 90% chance of getting the disease.
To minimize the risk, she opted for this preventive procedure that lasted three months.
Jolie lost her mother to breast cancer and assured in her column that she can now tell her children that they should not fear that she will die from the disease.
"My Medical Choice"
In the article titled My Medical Choice, Jolie explains that her mother struggled for nearly a decade and that she died at age 56.
The 37-year-old actress wrote that she had sworn to herself that the disease would not keep her from her children.
"The truth is that I carry the 'faulty' gene, BRCA1, which significantly increases my risk of developing breast cancer and ovarian cancer."
She added that once she "realized that this was her reality," she made the decision to undergo nine weeks of complex surgery that included a double mastectomy.
The chances that she will now develop breast cancer dropped from 87% to less than 5%, Jolie said.
Today, women facing a high probability of developing breast cancer have practically two real options: remove their breasts with a double mastectomy, or hope that it never actually happens.
Jolie took the first option. "I feel empowered by making a good choice that in no way diminishes my femininity."
"For any woman reading this, I hope she helps her know that she has options," the actress added.
And you, have you had to make a decision like this? If you would like to share your experience, write to us using the form below.
These are some of the comments submitted so far. Thank you for your participation.
I can't imagine myself in a similar situation, but I have had family members who have gone through this, their performance would be an example to follow, especially today when so many girls are often seen under the age of 18 enlarging their breasts without knowing the genetic risks that they may to have...
I am a young woman who has not had problems with her breasts, thank you for her testimonials because they help raise awareness among women who have not presented any anomaly in this regard.
Thank you for reminding us that something similar or similar can happen to anyone, you are brave women who dared to give your testimony to alert others......
It seems to me a good decision, if not for what, we want to know, what diseases we can suffer from, if we do not take measures to avoid it and for which it is under medical surveillance, the truth is that when they detect it even in early stages, but we already has and thus will not have it, it seems good to me.
