Angelina Jolie has a preventive double mastectomy

2 stroke · 14-05-2013 09:16AM

Feels like they took my boobs.

Happyman42 · 14-05-2013 09:16AM

What is really heartening is the fact that she said that the decision was an easy one in the end. That must give strenght to a lot of people.

Of course the clammy handed little boys, already oogling and tutting on this thread, won't understand that they have just been ignored as a mature woman of substance prioritises her life.

force eleven · 14-05-2013 09:19AM

So let's screen everyone for genetic risks? Where does that start and where does it end? Does anyone see implications of where that potentially takes us? I'm talking 15-20 years down the line btw.

kfk · 14-05-2013 09:21AM

force eleven wrote: »

So let's screen everyone for genetic risks? Where does that start and where does it end? Does anyone see implications of where that potentially takes us? I'm talking 15-20 years down the line btw.

Less women dying from breast cancer maybe?

eviltwin · 14-05-2013 09:21AM

force eleven wrote: »

So let's screen everyone for genetic risks? Where does that start and where does it end? Does anyone see implications of where that potentially takes us? I'm talking 15-20 years down the line btw.

What would be wrong with that? There are lots of things we already know can pass through the genes. Sometimes prevention is as simple as not smoking or keeping to a healthy weight. Not all preventions will be as drastic as this.

aSligoDub · 14-05-2013 09:22AM

force eleven wrote: »

So let's screen everyone for genetic risks? Where does that start and where does it end? Does anyone see implications of where that potentially takes us? I'm talking 15-20 years down the line btw.

you serious? she reduced her risk.. end of. no lines, no implications.

Ilik Urgee · 14-05-2013 09:25AM

Fair play to her. Might pave the way for a lot of other would-be sufferers to approach the threat head on, rather than living in deep-lying fear waiting for the seemingly inevitable.
That and she's just gone a whole lot sexier imo:D

ruthloss · 14-05-2013 09:28AM

force eleven wrote: »

So let's screen everyone for genetic risks? Where does that start and where does it end? Does anyone see implications of where that potentially takes us? I'm talking 15-20 years down the line btw.

I was going to say something., actually I can't be a$sed.:mad:

Duggy747 · 14-05-2013 09:30AM

Since she's had the operations done she must be in a hell of a lot more relaxed state, that would be a pretty shìtty thing to have chewing away at your thoughts knowing you have that gene and wondering what to do.

You can have as much money as possible, but once cancer gets in there far enough, you're fùcked.

humanji · 14-05-2013 09:31AM

force eleven wrote: »

So let's screen everyone for genetic risks? Where does that start and where does it end? Does anyone see implications of where that potentially takes us? I'm talking 15-20 years down the line btw.

Once you make one slippery slope argument, you'll end up making countless more. Where will it end?

syklops · 14-05-2013 09:31AM

dartup wrote: »

there goes her sex life

Are suggesting Angelina Jolie won't be able to get laid after this?

Oh the naivete! :rolleyes:

sadie06 · 14-05-2013 09:37AM

I am very impressed with the fact that she managed to keep this private for the duration of her treatment, and has now put it out there in such a dignified and informative manner.

I personally have a friend who has been struggling with the decision of whether or not to be genetically screened for BRCA1. I really hope this story brings it to the forefront of her mind once more, and helps cast a more positive light on any eventual outcome.

Well done Angelina!

krudler · 14-05-2013 09:59AM

force eleven wrote: »

So let's screen everyone for genetic risks? Where does that start and where does it end? Does anyone see implications of where that potentially takes us? I'm talking 15-20 years down the line btw.

Well if a doctor told me I had a 87% change of getting say testicular cancer, I'd rather go down the route of preventing it altogether instead of hoping I didnt get it, wind up probably getting it, then going through chemo or treatment hoping it went into remission etc.

renofan · 14-05-2013 10:06AM

Diageio_Man wrote: »

Tits or gtfo.

dartup wrote: »

there goes her sex life

As someone who has had a family member die as a result of breast cancer and have seen the devastation it caused I'm disgusted by cheap attempts at thanks whoring. Ye should be ashamed of yerselves.

Fair play to Angelina I say and hopefully her telling people about it will do some good, which I'm sure it will.

Plazaman · 14-05-2013 10:44AM

Wow, brave move on Angelinas part but the fact she said she seen her mother suffering from cancer for 10 years, it probably was an easier call to make when diagnosed with the faulty gene.

Reconstructive and cosmetic surgery has come on in leaps and bounds in recent years so mastectomies thankfully not the be all and end all when it comes to physical apperances as it used to be.

Having said that AJ is not the first woman this has happened to so whilst I'll still applaud her bravery, she's no different than the thousands or other brave women who've made the same decision.

Jimoslimos · 14-05-2013 10:59AM

Plazaman wrote: »

Having said that AJ is not the first woman this has happened to so whilst I'll still applaud her bravery, she's no different than the thousands or other brave women who've made the same decision.

True, but she is in an industry where women's body images are scrutinised in great detail. It would be quite easy and understandable for vanity to override the risk of getting cancer.

bnt · 14-05-2013 11:02AM

With skilled surgery and implants, I doubt anyone would have noticed had she not talked about it. Christina Applegate had similar surgery in 2008, and you can't tell by looking at her.

Aidric · 14-05-2013 11:02AM

MagicMarker wrote: »

Wow, that is incredible. Especially considering the industry she's in.

Probably not your intention, but a crass and misjudged comment.

Health comes before everything else.

efb · 14-05-2013 11:07AM

Courageous move for Angelina

misslt · 14-05-2013 11:08AM

I know she could easily have kept it a secret but the beauty of it (for want of a better word) is that she's spoken about it and used her position to ensure word gets out and could inspire other people to consider doing the same.

fishy fishy · 14-05-2013 11:08AM

Vojera wrote: »

So much classier than Michelle Heaton. She (Heaton) got her diagnosis shortly after all the women in my family got our tests results (some of us negative, some of us positive) and I thought that her reaction would have really put the fear of God into anyone in our position if we hadn't already been talking to an excellent genetic cancer counsellor. Fair play Angelina for taking the considered approach and realising that people take your words seriously.

what a horrible post.

14-05-2013 11:13AM

Aidric wrote: »

Probably not your intention, but a crass and misjudged comment.

Health comes before everything else.

Of course it doesn't, people smoke, people over eat, people use sun beds, people drink too much alcohol, people don't exercise. People don't put their health before everything else.

There was nothing crass about MagicMarker's comment. The fact that this woman makes her living from (aside from her acting talents) being beautiful, and having her body scrutinised in magazines around the world, is what he is referring to.

Links234 · 14-05-2013 11:15AM

some of the posts here just make me sigh

she's an incredible woman and I know if I were in her shoes, I wouldn't have handled it with such strength. a bit of humanity, please AH

Aidric · 14-05-2013 11:17AM

Deleted User wrote: »

Of course it doesn't, people smoke, people over eat, people use sun beds, people drink too much alcohol, people don't exercise. People don't put their health before everything else.

There was nothing crass about MagicMarker's comment. The fact that this woman makes her living from (aside from her acting talents) being beautiful, and having her body scrutinised in magazines around the world, is what he is referring to.

Don't even know where to begin with that reply so I'll just leave it.

Whooosh, etc..

eviltwin · 14-05-2013 11:19AM

I think some people think its just like getting a new set of boobs. Physically and mentally and emotionally its a huge thing to do. Women do sometimes see their boobs as what makes them a woman and it can be a hard decision to make even if there is a really good reason for doing it. I think its important for us normal women to see public figures like Angelina and know that you can still be sexy and womanly despite having gone through something so difficult. I wish her lots of good health in the future.

14-05-2013 11:19AM

Aidric wrote: »

Don't even know where to begin with that reply so I'll just leave it.

Whooosh, etc..

You didn't leave it though, did you?

Go on, argue your point a little better and I may get it.

Vojera · 14-05-2013 11:35AM

Cody Pomeray wrote: »

what?!

you're comparing 'classiness' of women faced with their own mortality?

heaton doesn't owe anyone a withdrawal to the shadows just because talking about her diagnosis might be upsetting.

fishy fishy wrote: »

what a horrible post.

Perhaps "classy" was the wrong word, but I stand by what I said 100%.

Have you been in the position of waiting for test results that could potentially tell you that you and your sister and half your aunties and cousins are virtually guaranteed to get breast cancer and have a 1 in 2 chance of getting ovarian cancer?

I have, and it happened to co-incide with Michelle Heaton's diagnosis, and let me tell you both, it was NOT helpful.

We were lucky enough to be seen by a genetic cancer counsellor the week before her news broke, and if we had still been on the waiting list I would have been freaked out by the way she was talking, by the way she was crying on every tv show, and by the sensationalist way she talked about the issue.

I'm not belittling her experience, but a lot of the information she gave was incorrect and ill-informed and she did not emphasise the fact that every single mutation is different. She made out like the mutation is a death sentence and that is not the case at all. Not all mutations carry the same level of risk. The diagnosis must be considered in conjunction with your family history. A double mastectomy is not the only option.

For Michelle's own good, and the good of people like us who were waiting on results, and others who will do so in the future, it would have been better for her to deal with the issue in private. I'm not saying she had to shy away from public life or pretend it wasn't happening, but the way it was done was wrong.

She had just found out that she was almost guaranteed to get breast cancer. Does that make her the best person to inform the public about it? No. If she had been accompanied on all those talk shows by a medical professional who could calmly explain the facts then I would have been okay with it, but I felt that by showing her crying on tv the whole time, it was making out that the diagnosis is worse than it is.

dark crystal · 14-05-2013 11:35AM

Vojera wrote: »

So much classier than Michelle Heaton. She (Heaton) got her diagnosis shortly after all the women in my family got our tests results (some of us negative, some of us positive) and I thought that her reaction would have really put the fear of God into anyone in our position if we hadn't already been talking to an excellent genetic cancer counsellor. Fair play Angelina for taking the considered approach and realising that people take your words seriously.

Class doesn't come into it. I'm sure Michelle Heaton was just as brave and went through the very same emotions as any woman would when being given such a diagnosis. Each woman deals with this issue in different ways.

Comparing one woman's classiness to another in such cases is needless and insensitive. For what it's worth, I had a huge amount of respect for Michelle Heaton for raising the issue and telling her own personal story. I can't for the life of me see how she was in any way lacking in class.

dr.bollocko · 14-05-2013 11:51AM

Diageio_Man wrote: »

Tits or gtfo.

aSligoDub wrote: »

hmm, what did the docs do with the removed tissue?
<<.<<

>>.>>

squod wrote: »

So whats going to happen to them now? Shurely they'll end up in museum or something???

2 stroke wrote: »

Feels like they took my boobs.

dartup wrote: »

there goes her sex life

The above comments all infracted. Anyone in receipt of infractions please do not post in this thread again.
Everyone else please report posts which cross the line.

fishy fishy · 14-05-2013 11:55AM

Vojera wrote: »

Perhaps "classy" was the wrong word, but I stand by what I said 100%.

Have you been in the position of waiting for test results that could potentially tell you that you and your sister and half your aunties and cousins are virtually guaranteed to get breast cancer and have a 1 in 2 chance of getting ovarian cancer?

I have, and it happened to co-incide with Michelle Heaton's diagnosis, and let me tell you both, it was NOT helpful.

We were lucky enough to be seen by a genetic cancer counsellor the week before her news broke, and if we had still been on the waiting list I would have been freaked out by the way she was talking, by the way she was crying on every tv show, and by the sensationalist way she talked about the issue.

I'm not belittling her experience, but a lot of the information she gave was incorrect and ill-informed and she did not emphasise the fact that every single mutation is different. She made out like the mutation is a death sentence and that is not the case at all. Not all mutations carry the same level of risk. The diagnosis must be considered in conjunction with your family history. A double mastectomy is not the only option.

For Michelle's own good, and the good of people like us who were waiting on results, and others who will do so in the future, it would have been better for her to deal with the issue in private. I'm not saying she had to shy away from public life or pretend it wasn't happening, but the way it was done was wrong.

She had just found out that she was almost guaranteed to get breast cancer. Does that make her the best person to inform the public about it? No. If she had been accompanied on all those talk shows by a medical professional who could calmly explain the facts then I would have been okay with it, but I felt that by showing her crying on tv the whole time, it was making out that the diagnosis is worse than it is.

Michelle heaton spoke about her experience - she has no obligation to make things nice and fluffy for people - she was honest and upfront and showed emotion - so what if she got stuff wrong - she's not an expert on the subject - she's a reality tv star - not in the medical profession. It was an honest and raw glimpse into what cancer does to people.

Angelina Jolie has a preventive double mastectomy

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