An op ed this morning in the NY Times. Well worth reading in it's entirety. <\/p>\n
My Medical Choice<\/a><\/p>\n \nMY MOTHER fought cancer<\/a> \nWe often speak of \u201cMommy\u2019s mommy,\u201d and I find myself trying to explain \nMy doctors estimated that I had an 87 percent risk of breast cancer<\/a> and a 50 percent risk of ovarian cancer, although the risk is different in the case of each woman. <\/p>\n \nOnly a fraction of breast cancers result from an inherited gene mutation<\/a>. Those with a defect in BRCA1 have a 65 percent<\/a> risk of getting it, on average. <\/p>\n \nOnce I knew that this was my reality, I decided to be proactive and to Jolie then goes into some detail about the procedures, and finishes with this –<\/p>\n \nI acknowledge that there are many wonderful holistic doctors working on
\nfor almost a decade and died at 56. She held out long enough to meet
\nthe first of her grandchildren and to hold them in her arms. But my
\nother children will never have the chance to know her and experience how
\nloving and gracious she was. <\/p>\n
\nthe illness that took her away from us. They have asked if the same
\ncould happen to me. I have always told them not to worry, but the truth
\nis I carry a \u201cfaulty\u201d gene, BRCA1, which sharply increases my risk of
\ndeveloping breast cancer<\/a> and ovarian cancer<\/a>. <\/p>\n
\nminimize the risk as much I could. I made a decision to have a preventive double mastectomy<\/a>. I started with the breasts, as my risk of breast cancer<\/a> is higher than my risk of ovarian cancer, and the surgery is more complex. <\/p>\n
\nalternatives to surgery. My own regimen will be posted in due course on
\nthe Web site of the Pink Lotus Breast Center. I hope that this will be
\nhelpful to other women. <\/p>\n