Angelina Jolie and double mastectomy
It was shocking when I heard the news that Angelina Jolie did double mastectomy.
Why preventive double mastectomy for Angelina Jolie?
Only a fraction of breast cancers result from an inherited gene mutation. Those with a defect in BRCA1 have around 65 per cent risk of getting it, on average.
Angelina says..
"My doctors estimated that I had an 87 per cent risk of breast cancer. Once I knew that this was my reality, I decided to be proactive and to minimize the risk as much I could. I made a decision to have a preventive double mastectomy".
Mastectomy procedure:
Nipple delay
This surgery rules out disease in the breast ducts behind the nipple and draws extra blood flow to the area. This causes some pain and small bruises but it increases the chance of saving the nipple.
Removal of Breasts
The major surgery can be done two weeks later, where the breast tissue is removed and temporary fillers are put in place. The operation can take eight long hours. In Angelina Jolie's own words "You wake up with drain tubes and expanders in your breasts. It does feel like a scene out of a science-fiction film".
Reconstruction of Breasts
Nine weeks later, the final surgery is completed with the reconstruction of the breasts with an implant. Altogether it takes around three months of medical procedures for the mastectomies involved.
In her own words..
"On a personal note, I do not feel any less of a woman. I feel empowered that I made a strong choice that in no way diminishes my femininity.
I choose not to keep my story private because there are many women who do not know that they might be living under the shadow of cancer. It is my hope that they, too, will be able to get gene tested, and that if they have a high risk they, too, will know that they have strong options".
After effects
It seems a sort of ad for the breast implant companies and expecting a rise in such firms and products with low quality implants.
Everything would become mechanical. Our fear takes control of ourselves and we do act based on that even if we may not get cancer. But who knows..
On a personal note:
I personally feel that most of the girls think femininity is a burden and they want to discard most of their feminine assets say for example, cutting their long hair and making it into a pony tail kinda style which they say it is very easy to maintain. Another example is wearing a boy lookalike dress on the assumption that it is comfortable. Nowadays nobody wants Sari.
Finally, I am afraid, this double mastectomy story which Angelina Jolie made public may inspire them in all possible ways and it may feel them that they have still more options :)
Courtesy: The journal 'My medical choice' by Angelina Jolie
