Why Angelina Jolie Had Breast Removal Surgery ??
Actress Angelina Jolie
has undergone a
preventive double
mastectomy, she
revealed.
She wrote an opinion
piece, titled "My Medical
Choice,"
explaining that she
underwent the breast
removal procedure
because she has a
mutated BRCA1 gene
known to raise a
woman's risk of breast
and ovarian cancers.
The BRCA1 and BRCA2
genes work in the body
to keep DNA stable and
to make sure cells don't
grow out of control,
according to the
National Cancer
Institute. But certain
mutations of these
genes
can dramatically raise
cancer risk.
Jolie, 37, explained her
risks from BRCA1
in the piece:
My doctors
estimated that I
had an 87 percent
risk of breast
cancer and a 50
percent risk of
ovarian cancer,
although the risk is
different in the
case of each
woman.
Only a fraction of
breast cancers
result from an
inherited gene
mutation. Those
with a defect in
BRCA1 have a 65
percent risk of
getting it, on
average.
Jolie began the process
on Feb. 2, when she
underwent a "nipple
delay" procedure to
make sure there is no
breast cancer behind
the nipple. She
completed all the
mastectomy
procedures on April 27,
including breast
reconstruction with an
implant, she wrote.
"I wanted to write this
to tell other women
that the decision to
have a mastectomy
was not easy," she
wrote. "But it is one I
am very happy that I
made. My chances of
developing breast
cancer have dropped
from 87 percent to
under 5 percent. I can
tell my children that
they don’t need to fear
they will lose me to
breast cancer."
The type of
mastectomy a person
undergoes depends on
each individual case.
Nipple-sparing
mastectomy
only involves surgical
removal of breast
tissue -- not the nipple
or areola -- while skin-
sparing mastectomy
involves removal of all
the breast except for
the breast skin,
according to the Mayo
Clinic. A simple
mastectomy involves
surgical removal of the
whole breast, while a
modified radical
mastectomy involves
surgical removal of the
whole breast in addition
to the chest muscle
lining, underarm lymph
nodes and sometimes a
part of the chest wall.
CNN recently reported
on a study showing
that preventive
mastectomy, also
known as prophylactic
mastectomy, is more
common in the United
States than in other
countries.
However, the same
study showed that
many American women
get the procedure to
prevent cancer
recurrence
, even though it may
not be necessary
because of their breast
cancer types,
AnnArbor.com reported.
The procedure is
recommended for
people like Jolie -- those
with a known genetic
risk because they
possess the BRCA1 or
BRCA2, or have a strong
family history of the
disease
, NPR reported.
has undergone a
preventive double
mastectomy, she
revealed.
She wrote an opinion
piece, titled "My Medical
Choice,"
explaining that she
underwent the breast
removal procedure
because she has a
mutated BRCA1 gene
known to raise a
woman's risk of breast
and ovarian cancers.
The BRCA1 and BRCA2
genes work in the body
to keep DNA stable and
to make sure cells don't
grow out of control,
according to the
National Cancer
Institute. But certain
mutations of these
genes
can dramatically raise
cancer risk.
Jolie, 37, explained her
risks from BRCA1
in the piece:
My doctors
estimated that I
had an 87 percent
risk of breast
cancer and a 50
percent risk of
ovarian cancer,
although the risk is
different in the
case of each
woman.
Only a fraction of
breast cancers
result from an
inherited gene
mutation. Those
with a defect in
BRCA1 have a 65
percent risk of
getting it, on
average.
Jolie began the process
on Feb. 2, when she
underwent a "nipple
delay" procedure to
make sure there is no
breast cancer behind
the nipple. She
completed all the
mastectomy
procedures on April 27,
including breast
reconstruction with an
implant, she wrote.
"I wanted to write this
to tell other women
that the decision to
have a mastectomy
was not easy," she
wrote. "But it is one I
am very happy that I
made. My chances of
developing breast
cancer have dropped
from 87 percent to
under 5 percent. I can
tell my children that
they don’t need to fear
they will lose me to
breast cancer."
The type of
mastectomy a person
undergoes depends on
each individual case.
Nipple-sparing
mastectomy
only involves surgical
removal of breast
tissue -- not the nipple
or areola -- while skin-
sparing mastectomy
involves removal of all
the breast except for
the breast skin,
according to the Mayo
Clinic. A simple
mastectomy involves
surgical removal of the
whole breast, while a
modified radical
mastectomy involves
surgical removal of the
whole breast in addition
to the chest muscle
lining, underarm lymph
nodes and sometimes a
part of the chest wall.
CNN recently reported
on a study showing
that preventive
mastectomy, also
known as prophylactic
mastectomy, is more
common in the United
States than in other
countries.
However, the same
study showed that
many American women
get the procedure to
prevent cancer
recurrence
, even though it may
not be necessary
because of their breast
cancer types,
AnnArbor.com reported.
The procedure is
recommended for
people like Jolie -- those
with a known genetic
risk because they
possess the BRCA1 or
BRCA2, or have a strong
family history of the
disease
, NPR reported.
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