Angelina has her breasts and ovaries removed --- so?

Thanks to her great acting skills and good looks, Angelina Jolie stands out from the rest of Hollywood celebs. No doubt, she has a huge fan following that keep track of her every moment. With two bold decisions recently, Angelina shocked her fans and many who even don’t know her at all.

The first was just two years ago on 16 February 2013. That day Jolie took a difficult decision and put it to action. That had more to it for a screenplay than for anything in real life; she had her both breasts removed. No woman in her shoes in Hollywood would ever do it. Body matters most in entertainment industry, and she gave herself in to knife. Because, she wanted to save her life. A test predicted that she had 85 per cent chance of developing breast cancer. Jolie is carrying a defective gene BRCA1 that killed her mother, actress Marcheline Bertrand at the age of 56. Her grandmother succumbed to ovarian cancer, and later her aunt died of breast cancer. Not wanting chance decide her life, she turned to preventive surgery, and talked about it in The New York Times, leading to headlines in media world over.

“I choose not to keep my story private because there are many women who do not know that they might be living under the shadow of cancer. It is my hope that they, too, will be able to get gene tested, and that if they have a high risk they, too, will know that they have strong options”, Jolie said.

The surgery has cut the chance down to 5 per cent. The preventive ‘double mastectomy’ is quite unheard of and Jolie, being a beautiful woman, surprised many. Yes, people may be thinking how it would affect her appearance. Later she said openly “I do not feel any less of a woman, I feel empowered that I made a strong choice that in no way diminishes my femininity”.

Hardly was she back in normal life than another blow came: a recent blood test indicated ‘early sign of cancer’ in her ovaries and fallopian tubes. The 39-year-old actress once again, gripped by fears, went through even more difficult ordeal. According to studies, gene mutations leading to these cancers are most commonly found in women of Eastern European Jewish origin. While women with faulty BRCA gene are five times more likely to get breast cancer, most other women walk with 12 per cent risk. Since her mother, grandmother and her aunt were victims of one or other forms of cancer, she had no choice. Jolie assessed her situation, talked to experts, meditated over it, and eventually decided to undergo surgery: Two years ago the double mastectomy, and now ----ovaries and fallopian tube are removed.

The news of her preventive surgery was widely reported in the media. Many came out to praise her; especially, the health campaigners in Europe and USA spread awareness about cancer. Time magazine called it, “The Angelina Effect”, echoing Raman Effect. Alongside, women began increasingly visiting cancer clinics for checkups. This is particularly evident in UK, Canada and India. The surgery has put her in early menopause, and she is now taking hormones to beat the situation.

Angelina underwent what many other women go through at some point in their lives. If not detected early, they live a hopeless life until death. However, she has no cancer now, and her chance of developing one or other has reduced a lot. Angelina has got a new life. And she could probably live to see her children grow up and see her grandchildren. That is her greatest ambition. Ethically, personally, and spiritually, her decision to go for surgery is a right one. There is no different opinion. But experts across the world haven’t suggested women at risk to follow Angelina’s example. That is particularly noteworthy. Everybody was complimentary to her decision. But nobody did want others to follow her suit. Doesn’t that mean this decision is just personal, and not advisable to others?

It is time experts opened their minds. Because leading authorities in Europe and elsewhere do not seem to think it an option advisable to all. Angelina is a daring woman and she climbed up a difficult mountain. Doctors can’t advise others to do the same. This is what their silence seems to say. Since she is a global celeb, she could influence people more than enhancing their awareness of cancer. We don’t know if any women already tried “Angelina Effect”. If not, we don’t have to wait for long. Very soon, you may hear women stepping into Angelina’s shoes. Not women alone, all those at risk may think about ‘Angelina option’.

Women with gene mutation for breast cancer and ovarian cancer will get their organs removed. They will continue live diminished risk of cancer. But we know one thing for sure: Preventive surgery is not effective for all cancers; especially, the most dangerous variety like cancer in lung and intestine or other areas where amputation is not possible. Even in the case of preventive surgery, there is still risk albeit a diminished one.

(Disclaimer: The opinions expressed within this article are the personal opinions of the author. The information, facts or opinions appearing in the article do not reflect the views of Madhyamam)