Angelina Jolie and I and the BRCA Gene Mutation
Angelina Jolie and I have a lot in common.
We are both women.
We both have husbands.
We both have children.
Both of our mothers have been diagnosed with ovarian cancer.
Both of us have been tested for the BRCA gene mutation.
I wish the last two similarities were not true.
Yesterday Angelina Jolie announced that she had a bilateral mastectomy because she had tested positive for the BRCA gene mutation. Yesterday my oncologist called to let me know that I had tested negative for the same BRCA gene.
My doctor encouraged me to get the test after hearing of my mother's ovarian cancer diagnosis and my maternal grandmother's pancreatic cancer diagnosis, both of which can be linked to breast cancer. He talked about what a positive diagnosis would mean, how I would need to consider a double mastectomy and a hysterectomy to reduce my 60% chance of future breast cancer and my 30% chance of ovarian cancer. He was especially concerned about ovarian cancer which is not easily detected until it is stage 3 or 4. A silent killer, he said. (This site, by Myriad Genetics says 87% for breast cancer and 44% for ovarian.)
I remember thinking as I sat in his office that I had both parents fighting cancer and how would I find time for major surgery? And my husband and I have international travel plans for the summer. And what would a positive diagnosis mean to my girls? (If I were positive, they would have a 50% chance of being positive.)
So to say I was happy with the test results would be putting it mildly. (My husband says on a scale of 1 to 10, it's a 10 for him. He said I could quote him.)
I hope Jolie's openness will raise awareness of breast cancer and the testing that is available. The BRCA mutation is positive in only 5% of women with breast cancer, but it is conversation worth having for women with a family history of ovarian, pancreatic and/or breast cancer. I had to give a blood sample (some tests require a spit sample) and it took about a month to get the results. Myriad Genetics claims that 95% of the time it is covered by insurance.
I am impressed with Angelina Jolie's courage. She could have kept this difficult, personal decision to herself. For a woman who has been repeatedly voted as one of the world's most beautiful women, she could have protected her sexy image by remaining silent.
I admire her vulnerability and honesty, and I hope it sends a strong message that beauty and sexuality are not based on a body part and femininity has nothing to do with breasts.
Here is a simple Hereditary Cancer Quiz put out by Myriad Genetics to get you started to evaluate your risk: https://www.hereditarycancerquiz.com/.
I recommend - strongly - that you still talk to your doctor.