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suicideblonde: Angelina Jolie on why she had a double...

Tue, 14 May 2013 11:14:03 -0400

Angelina Jolie on why she had a double mastectomy, and how it can save lives

My mother fought cancer for almost a decade and died at 56. She held out long enough to meet the first of her grandchildren and to hold them in her arms. But my other children will never have the chance to know her and experience how loving and gracious she was.

We often speak of “Mommy’s mommy,” and I find myself trying to explain the illness that took her away from us. They have asked if the same could happen to me. I have always told them not to worry, but the truth is I carry a “faulty” gene, BRCA1, which sharply increases my risk of developing breast cancer and ovarian cancer.

My doctors estimated that I had an 87 percent risk of breast cancer and a 50 percent risk of ovarian cancer, although the risk is different in the case of each woman.

Only a fraction of breast cancers result from an inherited gene mutation. Those with a defect in BRCA1 have a 65 percent risk of getting it, on average.

Once I knew that this was my reality, I decided to be proactive and to minimize the risk as much I could. I made a decision to have a preventive double mastectomy. I started with the breasts, as my risk of breast cancer is higher than my risk of ovarian cancer, and the surgery is more complex.

On April 27, I finished the three months of medical procedures that the mastectomies involved. During that time I have been able to keep this private and to carry on with my work.

But I am writing about it now because I hope that other women can benefit from my experience. Cancer is still a word that strikes fear into people’s hearts, producing a deep sense of powerlessness. But today it is possible to find out through a blood test whether you are highly susceptible to breast and ovarian cancer, and then take action.

My own process began on Feb. 2 with a procedure known as a “nipple delay,” which rules out disease in the breast ducts behind the nipple and draws extra blood flow to the area. This causes some pain and a lot of bruising, but it increases the chance of saving the nipple.

Two weeks later I had the major surgery, where the breast tissue is removed and temporary fillers are put in place. The operation can take eight hours. You wake up with drain tubes and expanders in your breasts. It does feel like a scene out of a science-fiction film. But days after surgery you can be back to a normal life.

Nine weeks later, the final surgery is completed with the reconstruction of the breasts with an implant. There have been many advances in this procedure in the last few years, and the results can be beautiful.

I wanted to write this to tell other women that the decision to have a mastectomy was not easy. 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.

It is reassuring that they see nothing that makes them uncomfortable. They can see my small scars and that’s it. Everything else is just Mommy, the same as she always was. And they know that I love them and will do anything to be with them as long as I can. On a personal note, 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.

I am fortunate to have a partner, Brad Pitt, who is so loving and supportive. So to anyone who has a wife or girlfriend going through this, know that you are a very important part of the transition. Brad was at the Pink Lotus Breast Center, where I was treated, for every minute of the surgeries. We managed to find moments to laugh together. We knew this was the right thing to do for our family and that it would bring us closer. And it has.

For any woman reading this, I hope it helps you to know you have options. I want to encourage every woman, especially if you have a family history of breast or ovarian cancer, to seek out the information and medical experts who can help you through this aspect of your life, and to make your own informed choices.

I acknowledge that there are many wonderful holistic doctors working on alternatives to surgery. My own regimen will be posted in due course on the Web site of the Pink Lotus Breast Center. I hope that this will be helpful to other women.

Breast cancer alone kills some 458,000 people each year, according to the World Health Organization, mainly in low- and middle-income countries. It has got to be a priority to ensure that more women can access gene testing and lifesaving preventive treatment, whatever their means and background, wherever they live. The cost of testing for BRCA1 and BRCA2, at more than $3,000 in the United States, remains an obstacle for many women.

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.

Life comes with many challenges. The ones that should not scare us are the ones we can take on and take control of.

"The SAT is a scam. It has been around for 50 years. It has never measured anything. And it continues..."

Sun, 12 May 2013 14:35:54 -0400

“The SAT is a scam. It has been around for 50 years. It has never measured anything. And it continues to measure nothing. And the whole game is that everybody who does well on it, is so delighted by their good fortune that they don’t want to attack it. And they are the people in charge. Because of course, the way you get to be in charge is by having high test scores. So it’s this terrific kind of rolling scam that every so often, somebody sort of looks and says—well, you know, does it measure intelligence? No. Does it predict college grades? No. Does it tell you how much you learned in high school? No. Does it predict life happiness or life success in any measure? No. It’s measuring nothing.”

- John Katzman, founder of The Princeton Review (via madgay)

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Sat, 11 May 2013 19:48:28 -0400

"Nothing haunts us like the things we don’t say."

Sat, 11 May 2013 19:36:18 -0400

“Nothing haunts us like the things we don’t say.”

- Mitch Albom (via zombieproduce)

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Sat, 11 May 2013 19:35:03 -0400

nevver: Boob moods

Sat, 11 May 2013 16:51:14 -0400

nevver:

Boob moods

stylewithmere: Untitled #614 by meredith-darling featuring...

Sat, 11 May 2013 16:49:57 -0400

stylewithmere:

Untitled #614 by meredith-darling featuring wayfarer sunglasses

Topshop floral tank / Topshop black skirt / ASOS flat ankle strap sandals / Mulberry satchel handbag / Ray-Ban wayfarer sunglasses

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Sat, 11 May 2013 11:19:16 -0400

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Sat, 11 May 2013 11:17:08 -0400

"Following your bliss is useless. People are passionate about a lot of stupid things. It’s not a..."

Sat, 11 May 2013 11:07:11 -0400

“Following your bliss is useless. People are passionate about a lot of stupid things. It’s not a great mantra. Meaning, I think, comes from doing a full accounting of your limitations and assets, your passions and your weaknesses, your belief system and your fears, and then rubbing up against the things that cause you to panic, like an allergy skin scratch test, and find out what your reactions are. Once you figure out how you can contribute to the greater good, once you’re able even to define that, you take that information and pour yourself into one direction. Regardless of discomfort or regrets or what-ifs. (And then doing that over and over again, until death.) That does not fit on a T-shirt. That to me is more important than bliss, which would really just lead me back into bed, maybe with a bowl of corn flakes…”

- Jessa Crispin (via austinkleon)

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Sat, 11 May 2013 11:06:26 -0400

honestly-wtf: Raspberry Rose Fizz | HonestlyYUM

Sat, 11 May 2013 11:03:55 -0400

honestly-wtf:

Raspberry Rose Fizz | HonestlyYUM

nikymblr: Illustration for Kiko Mizuhara & Grimes NYLON...

Sat, 11 May 2013 11:02:10 -0400

nikymblr:

Illustration for Kiko Mizuhara & Grimes NYLON JAPAN 9th Anniversary issue

basquiat come back

Fri, 10 May 2013 15:28:12 -0400

basquiat come back

"We are told ‘No,’ we’re unimportant, we’re peripheral. ‘Get a degree, get a job, get a this, get a..."

Fri, 10 May 2013 15:27:25 -0400

“We are told ‘No,’ we’re unimportant, we’re peripheral. ‘Get a degree, get a job, get a this, get a that.” And then you’re a player, you don’t want to even play in that game. You want to reclaim your mind and get it out of the hands of the cultural engineers who want to turn you into a half-baked moron consuming all this trash that’s being manufactured out of the bones of a dying world.”

- Terence McKenna (via sadexistences)

nevver: 42nd Street Shuttle

Fri, 10 May 2013 15:26:38 -0400

nevver:

42nd Street Shuttle

mudwerks: 1930 … ‘History Of Water’ WPA (by x-ray delta...

Fri, 10 May 2013 15:23:49 -0400

mudwerks:

1930 … ‘History Of Water’ WPA (by x-ray delta one)

Thomas Hart Benton

This is everything.

Fri, 10 May 2013 15:21:08 -0400

This is everything.

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Wed, 08 May 2013 02:19:20 -0400

womensweardaily: Celebrities Party Post ‘Punk’ Kate Bosworth in...

Wed, 08 May 2013 02:14:36 -0400

womensweardaily:

Celebrities Party Post ‘Punk’

Kate Bosworth in Balmain with Michael Polish.