Jolie began the process on Feb. 2, when she underwent a "nipple delay" procedure to make sure there is no breast cancer behind the nipple. She completed all the mastectomy procedures on April 27, including breast reconstruction with an implant, she wrote.
"I wanted to write this to tell other women that the decision to have a mastectomy was not easy," she wrote. "But it is one I am very happy that I made. My chances of developing breast cancer have dropped from 87 percent to under 5 percent. I can tell my children that they don’t need to fear they will lose me to breast cancer."
The type of mastectomy a person undergoes depends on each individual case. Nipple-sparing mastectomy only involves surgical removal of breast tissue -- not the nipple or areola -- while skin-sparing mastectomy involves removal of all the breast except for the breast skin, according to the Mayo Clinic. A simple mastectomy involves surgical removal of the whole breast, while a modified radical mastectomy involves surgical removal of the whole breast in addition to the chest muscle lining, underarm lymph nodes and sometimes a part of the chest wall.
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CNN recently reported on a study showing that [/FONT]
preventive mastectomy[FONT=Georgia, Century, Times, serif]
, also known as prophylactic mastectomy, is more common in the United States than in other countries.[/FONT]
Earlier this year, 24-year-old Miss America contestantAllyn Rose[FONT=Georgia, Century, Times, serif]
, announced she was undergoing a preventive mastectomy because she has a strong family history of breast cancer (her mother has the disease).[/FONT]
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I know there is a bias against anything done in USA in this site, but I assumed that there is respect for science, I am sorry I was mistaken.
[/FONT]Wendy Watson, who founded the UK's National Hereditary Breast Cancer Helpline, welcomed Jolie's decision to write publicly about her operation.
Dr Richard Francis, head of research at Breakthrough Breast Cancer, said that faults in the BRCA1 gene, which on average put women at a 65% risk of developing breast cancer, were rare and in most cases were linked to family history. at a 65% risk of developing breast cancer, were rare and in most cases were linked to family history.
Andy Burnham, the shadow health secretary, spoke last week about how his wife, Marie-France, who lost a sister to breast cancer aged 39, had had a risk-reducing double mastectomy. "What the NHS did for my wife was incredible. Her family were living in Belgium and the care there is not as good as what is provided here. Of the three sisters, Claire died, and Louise, the eldest, had breast cancer but has seen it off," the former health secretary told Fabian Review in an interview.
Burnham recalled how he had been lobbied, while still a junior health minister, to speed up the implementation of genetic testing. "I did a lot of work, never knowing that one day we would have to use those tests, and it does bring it home to you how [progress] can save lives," he added.
Angelina Jolie praised for revelation over double mastectomy | Society | guardian.co.uk
Mastectomy - MayoClinic.com
Mastectomy is surgery to remove all breast tissue from a breast as a way to treat or prevent breast cancer.
For those with early-stage breast cancer, mastectomy may be one treatment option. Breast-conserving surgery (lumpectomy), in which only the tumor is removed from the breast, may be another option. Deciding between mastectomy and lumpectomy can be difficult. Both procedures are equally effective. But lumpectomy isn't an option for everyone with breast cancer, and others prefer to undergo a mastectomy.
Newer mastectomy techniques can preserve breast skin and allow for a more natural breast appearance following the procedure. Surgery to restore shape to your breast — called breast reconstruction — may be done at the same time as your mastectomy or during a second operation at a later date.
Why it's done
Mastectomy is used to remove all breast tissue if you have breast cancer or are at especially high risk of developing it. You may have a mastectomy to remove one breast (unilateral mastectomy) or both breasts (bilateral mastectomy).
Breast Cancer and the Types of Mastectomy
A mastectomy is surgery to remove a breast. In the past, a radical mastectomy with complete removal of the breast was the standard treatment for breast cancer. However, surgical breakthroughs over the past two decades have given women more options than ever before. Less invasive breast-conserving therapy may be equally effective as mastectomy for treating breast cancer for some women.
I posted this thread as purely informational for members of this site. I know it is an expensive elective procedure.
It is not for the masses, or the bleeding hart liberal who is worried that there is poverty in India, this will not solve the poverty.
