Angelina Jolie’s Recovery to Health – A Breast Cancer Survivor’s Tale

Here is a coverage of Angelina Jolie’s journey of fighting with her mutated breast cancer genes.

The Genetics

BRCA genes in human body are responsible for fighting off cancer in case it attacks it. BRCA comes from BReast CAncer. However, in some cases these genes are either broken or mutated, leading to a higher risk of contracting breast (87%) and ovarian cancer (54%). Women with normal genes have a 12% risk of breast and less than 1% of ovarian cancer. The mutated versions are BRCA1 and BRCA2 and they are then transferred from one generation to another.

Unfortunately, for Angelina Jolie, her mother had the faulty genes. She had died at the age of 56 from ovarian cancer. When Jolie was examined for the presence of the genes, she tested positive. Since there is no way to prevent it, the brave actress and director decided to tread the difficult path and at the age of 37, she went under the knife. She opted for preventive double mastectomy.

The Surgeries

It took Angelina around three months to get done with the surgeries. However, she decided to keep it a secret. She had finished the procedures on April 27, 2013 but revealed the details a month later. She said that she decided to open up on the topic so that other women can benefit from her experiences. She believes that undergoing the surgeries does not make her any less of a woman. It gave her immense pleasure to be able to make a brave decision where her health was concerned.

While cancer is indeed a word that can strike fear in the hearts of people, the Salt star decided to defeat it. Her first surgery was to save the nipples called “nipple delay.” It takes care of disease behind the nipples sending extra blood to that area. This method rules out tissue damage.

Then her major surgeries started where the breast tissue was replaced by temporary fillers. Next the breasts were reconstructed using implants. Technological advancements have improved the procedures by several notches. Yet, it is not an easy decision to make. Jolie, however, is glad that the risk of her developing the dreadful disease has went down from 87% to 5%.  She can reassure her children that they won’t be losing her to cancer as she had lost her mother to it.

What Makes It The Right Choice?

Angelina wants all the women who are at a risk of developing breast cancer to know that taking a step to prevent it is the right thing to do. Her relationship with her partner, Brad Pitt was not in any way effected by her decision. If anything, it only turned even better.

Breast cancer is responsible for killing around 458,000 people per year, according to the World Health Organization. Therefore, spreading awareness is essential, which is the main reason why she had decided to reveal her story. It has definitely made an impact too.

We wish speedy recovery and early detection to all the women who are suffering from breast cancer.

Source: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1180265/