It’s not everyday that
Hollywood wakes up to a news flash about a popular actress having mastectomy,
and double at that! That’s just what Oscar-winning actress Angelina Jolie did.
The actress disclosed the news in an op-ed column in the New York Times on
Tuesday, May 14. The 37 year old actress revealed that she underwent a double
mastectomy after learning that she had inherited a high risk of breast cancer.
Jolie hoped her story would serve as an inspiration to many women across the
globe who are in the same situation or who are fighting the life-threatening
disease.
Jolie wrote in the NY
Times column that part of the decision to have the surgery (mastectomy) is
to reassure her six children that cancer will not take her away from them.
Jolie’s own mother, Marcheline Bertrand battled ovarian cancer and died at age
56. Jolie managed to keep the findings within the family for months even as she
continued with her usual duties and responsibilities.
Mastectomy is the
surgical term used to refer to the surgical removal of one or both breasts,
partially or completely. The surgery is a treatment option for breast cancer.
In Jolie’s case, she had the operation prophylactically to prevent cancer
rather than treat it. Jolie said that she had opted to have the surgery after
her doctors estimated that she had an 87 percent risk of breast cancer and 50
percent risk of ovarian cancer, calling her genes “faulty”.
The actress had three
months of exhausting medical procedures including breast reconstruction which
all ended in late April. After her surgery, Jolie said her doctors told her
that the chances of developing breast cancer are now just five percent.
Jolie hopes that other
women out there will take a cue from her, to be proactive and minimize the risk
as much as they could. If there is an opportunity to prevent the cancer, even
if it meant double mastectomy, every woman should take it. Jolie said, “Once I
knew my reality, I made a decision to have preventive double mastectomy.”
Celebrities, doctors
and cancer survivors all expressed admiration for the actress’ openness which
truly made her an inspiration for other women.
Sheryl Crow, who
herself was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2006 commended Angelina Jolie “for
her courage and thoughtfulness in sharing her story regarding her mastectomy.
So brave!”, goes her tweet.
Singer Kylie Minogue
is another cancer survivor expressed her thanks to Jolie for helping women. TV
host Giuliana Rancic who also had surgery after being diagnosed with the
disease tweeted, “Proud of her for using her incredible platform to educate
women.”
Angelina Jolie started
her treatment plan with the removal of her breasts as her risk of breast cancer
is higher than the risk of ovarian cancer. She described a several-stage
surgical process which took up to eight hours as the breast tissue is removed
and temporary fillers were put in place. She said it was like waking up with
drain tubes and expanders in your breasts. But days after the surgery, she was
able to go back to a normal life. The final phase was breast reconstruction
where implants were used to reconstruct the breasts. The advances in this
procedure in the last years have led to beautiful results. She now had only
small scars that her children can see without alarm.
Jolie was especially
thankful to Brad Pitt, her fiancé, for his support, for being with her through
the three months of treatment. Pitt praised her for her bold move, saying her
choice was “absolutely heroic.” He said all he wanted is for her to have a long
and healthy life with him and their children.
Jolie wrote, "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." And from
her own experience, she hopes that authorities will help women in lower-income
countries to get the heath care they need especially if diagnosed with breast
cancer. Cancer, according to Jolie is “still a word that strikes fear into
people’s hearts, producing a deep sense of powerlessness.”
0 comments:
Post a Comment