I woke up to texts, emails and phone messages from friends and family last week telling me about how Angelina Jolie had a prophylactic mastectomy three months ago because of having a faulty BRCA 1 gene. At first I was surprised, then I felt excited about how her sharing this publicly will start to educate people about it and possibly inspire woman that have a high percentage of breast and/or ovarian cancer in their family to get tested. I just watched from the side lines, having just gone through it myself, the opinions from people on the radio, talk shows, news papers, and magazines- amazed at how quickly people now know what the BRCA gene is. One particular show that I watched I had personally written to months before trying to inspire them to do a show on genetic cancers but never got a response (go figure) so I am happy to see that Angelina inspired them to actually do it. Her sharing her story will not only help the people that may need to get tested but for the woman that already know they have the gene mutation. Before my surgery, when I was having routine mammograms, ultra sounds and MRI's, the technician's would first tell me that I was too early for my screening, that I just had one six months ago and that I didn't need to be there. I would then explain to them about the BRCA gene and what happens when it is faulty and how my doctor ordered the mammogram. Most times there was a bit of a language barrier but in the end they always understood "double mastectomy"and didn't even try to hide the look of horror on their face. Maybe now with such a public figure coming forward, more technicians will know about the gene and not tell them to go home.(hahaha)
When stars come forward with health issues and become an advocate for a cause I sometimes feel that information gets lost in the dramatics of it. In this case I heard people worrying about how they can get tested and if their insurance would pay for it. If you have a family history of breast and ovarian cancer, especially if they were under the age of 50 years old when they got it, then you have a "reason" to get tested therefore in most cases your insurance will pay for it. To put things in perspective- less than 1% of people in the U.S. have this mutation and only 10% of breast cancers stem from inherited genetic defeats so it is not a test that is necessary for everyone.
I do love that the media has made a point to emphasize that it was "Her Choice". If you are tested positive for the BRCA mutation it does not mean you have to have a double mastectomy. Like I always go back to, everyone has a different journey or "story" and at the end of the day you have to make choices that are best for yourself and your family. I'm glad Angelina shared her story and although I'm not famous I will continue to share mine- at least for now.
