USA: Angelina Jolie's announcement that she had a double mastectomy sparks interest in preventative procedures, which another woman describes as having given her "quality of life"

Record ID: 858166

  • Title: USA: Angelina Jolie's announcement that she had a double mastectomy sparks interest in preventative procedures, which another woman describes as having given her "quality of life"
  • Date: 14th May 2013
  • Summary: INTERNET (MAY 14, 2013) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF SARA TENENBEIN'S BLOG, "MEREDONE.COM"
  • Embargoed: 29th May 2013 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Usa
  • City:
  • Country: USA
  • Topics: Health
  • Reuters ID: LVAC5JIKOLC2PH9BS3KCJ9R6PBK1
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  • Story Text: Angelina Jolie's revelation that she underwent a double mastectomy has put the spotlight on preventative procedures, which as one woman put it, has the ability to provide a sense of "quality of life."
    Jolie opted for the procedure after learning she had inherited a high risk of breast cancer. She wrote about her experiences in a article for The New York Times.

    "I love what she titled her article, which was 'My Medical Decision,' and that's something that I think is really important," said Medstar Georgetown University Hospital Chief of Breast Surgery, Dr. Eleni Tousimis.
    "It's her personal decision. She made this decision as a very informed consent. She knew what she was getting into. She knew what the before and after was going to be like. She knew what her risk was. And she chose to go down this path."
    Breast cancer kills about 458,000 people each year, according to the World Health Organization. It is estimated that one in 300 to one in 500 women carry a BRCA 1 or BRCA 2 gene mutation, as Jolie does. One of those women, Sara Tenenbein, went the same route as Jolie, choosing to have a double mastectomy without ever being diagnosed with cancer. She calls herself a "pre-vivor"
    Said Tenenbein, "I tell people all the time, I did not get this surgery to avoid breast cancer. I got this surgery for my quality of life, to avoid the anxiety, to stop the MRIs, the mammograms, and just sort of living in fear and feeling as if there was an anvil waiting to drop on my head. And so my life is better because I did this surgery."
    In addition to a better quality of life, women like Tenenbein are also encouraged by the medical advances made in the field - which now allow many women to keep the exterior of their breasts, allowing them to feel - and look - like themselves after the procedures.

    "I feel as though in the past when women thought of having a mastectomy, they had these visions of disfiguring surgery. And I think it's important to note that this is not disfiguring surgery like it used to be in the past. This is not the same mastectomy that our mothers and grandmothers had," said Dr. Tousimis.
    Tenenbein, who writes the cancer awareness blog MeRedone.com, thanked Jolie on her website for coming forward with her story.

    "She's basically come forward and said my health takes priority, my family takes priority and I've watched my mother go through and battle this terrible disease and it's not going to happen to me and I think she can serve as a role model for women to not only take matters into their own hands and be proactive about their health, but to know that there is life after mastectomy," said Tenenbein.
    As for Jolie, she has said the procedure has reduced her cancer risk from 87 percent to 5 percent.
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