Do you need mastectomy?
Experts fear that Angelina Jolies disclosure of preventive
mastectomies may be misinterpreted by women who dont really need the
surgery.
One of the defining moments in the history of breast cancer occurred in 1974 when the first lady,Betty Ford,spoke openly about her mastectomy,lifting a veil of secrecy from the disease and ushering in a new era of breast cancer awareness.
Now four decades later,another leading lady the actress Angelina Jolie has focussed public attention on breast cancer again,but this time with an even bolder message: A woman at genetic risk should feel empowered to remove both breasts as a way to prevent the disease. Jolie revealed on Tuesday that because she carries a cancer-causing mutation,she has had a double mastectomy.
Some doctors,however,expressed worry that Jolies disclosure could be misinterpreted by other women,fuelling the trend toward mastectomies that are not medically necessary. In recent years,doctors have reported a virtual epidemic of preventive mastectomies among women who have cancer in one breast and decide to remove the healthy one as well,even though they do not have genetic mutations that increase their risk and their odds of a second breast cancer are very low.
Jolie wrote on the Op-Ed page of The New York Times that she had tested positive for a genetic mutation known as BRCA1,which left her with an exceedingly high risk (87 per cent) for developing breast and ovarian cancer. After genetic counselling,Jolie opted to have both breasts removed and to undergo reconstructive surgery.
Her condition is rare. Mutations in BRCA1 and another gene called BRCA2 are estimated to cause only 5 per cent to 10 per cent of breast cancers and 10 per cent to 15 per cent of ovarian cancers among white women in the United States. The mutations are found in other racial and ethnic groups as well,but it is not known how common they are.
One of the defining moments in the history of breast cancer occurred in 1974 when the first lady,Betty Ford,spoke openly about her mastectomy,lifting a veil of secrecy from the disease and ushering in a new era of breast cancer awareness.
Now four decades later,another leading lady the actress Angelina Jolie has focussed public attention on breast cancer again,but this time with an even bolder message: A woman at genetic risk should feel empowered to remove both breasts as a way to prevent the disease. Jolie revealed on Tuesday that because she carries a cancer-causing mutation,she has had a double mastectomy.
Some doctors,however,expressed worry that Jolies disclosure could be misinterpreted by other women,fuelling the trend toward mastectomies that are not medically necessary. In recent years,doctors have reported a virtual epidemic of preventive mastectomies among women who have cancer in one breast and decide to remove the healthy one as well,even though they do not have genetic mutations that increase their risk and their odds of a second breast cancer are very low.
Jolie wrote on the Op-Ed page of The New York Times that she had tested positive for a genetic mutation known as BRCA1,which left her with an exceedingly high risk (87 per cent) for developing breast and ovarian cancer. After genetic counselling,Jolie opted to have both breasts removed and to undergo reconstructive surgery.
Her condition is rare. Mutations in BRCA1 and another gene called BRCA2 are estimated to cause only 5 per cent to 10 per cent of breast cancers and 10 per cent to 15 per cent of ovarian cancers among white women in the United States. The mutations are found in other racial and ethnic groups as well,but it is not known how common they are.
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Labels: BRCA1, BRCA2, gene, mastectomy, misinterpreted, mutations, preventive
posted by G S Iyer at 10:55 PM
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