Mastectomy - Should YOU follow Angelina Jolie's footsteps?

Well, the whole world is talking about “The Angelina effect”. Angelina Jolie is in the news yet again. Be it adopting kids from various parts of the world or undergoing a double mastectomy for diminishing the risk of breast cancer, she has never failed to surprise us at every turn.

Angelina is indeed a brave woman. It needs guts to remove a part of your own body and that too on your own wish. For a woman, breasts are the symbol of femininity. Many women would not be able to gather enough courage to do so if faced with such a situation. She was also opting for oophorectomy. Noting that her mother died of ovarian cancer at the age of 56 and that she herself had tested positive for the “faulty” BRCA1 gene, Jolie – who kept up her globe-trotting humanitarian work with trips to the Congo and London during her ordeal – said the operation reduced her chances of developing breast cancer from 87 percent to under 5 percent. In her own words,”I can tell my children that they don’t need to fear they will lose me to breast cancer”.

But cancer is not the only that can affect health. It is highly probable that we contract other diseases too. Even AJ is still at 5% risk of developing the cancer. We cant say she is completely safe. Chances are very rare now, but chances are there. We live in a world full of possibilities. If taken pessimistically, we might end up busy in digging up various ways in which we could die. There is a high risk of dying due to accidents these days. Does that mean you stop walking on the road? Will you replace your heart with an artificial machine, in fear of suffering from heart attack? I think the answer would be NO! She had a choice to make for herself and she did. I dont think just because a “megawatt” star opted for something, we should all follow it blindly without checking for the need or consequences of such therapy.

The number of women opting for genetic tests for breast cancer has increased after AJ revealed about her mastectomy. A number of women who do not need the surgery are asking for it, without actually facing the disease and doctors are having a tough time convincing such women that it’s unnecessary and can actually cause more harm than good. Out of 100 women who will undergo surgery, 1 might actually develop the disease. A surgery is harmful for the body and it takes much out of it. Is it not better to check for symptoms based on family history, or spend that huge amount of money needed for surgery, opting for a healthier lifestyle than simply undergoing a needless surgery?

AJ obviously could afford an implant surgery and she was lucky to have Brad Pitt’s support. Are all women this lucky? Moreover, we need to ask ourselves, are WE ready to welcome the “breastless” us!?