A local family physician calls Angelina Jolie’s decision to have a preventative double mastectomy a brave thing to do.
Heather McLean, a primary care lead for Regional Cancer Care Northwest, said the actress going public is a positive story that women in Northwestern Ontario can learn from.
“She talked to her physician about her risk of breast cancer. She was advised to have further testing to understand her genetic risk for breast cancer and she decided to take a proactive decision about her health fight and get a double mastectomy, knowing she was a very increased risk for breast cancer,” McLean said Wednesday.
The 37-year-old Jolie, best known for her role as Lara Croft and Jane Smith in Mr. & Mrs. Smith, learned she carried the BRCA1 gene, found in five per cent of all women.
Having watched her mother, actress Marcheline Bertrand, die from the disease at 56, Jolie announced in a New York Times op-ed piece that she underwent three months of surgery to remove her breasts, dropping the likelihood she’ll develop breast cancer to about five per cent.
She’s since had reconstructive surgery.
“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," Jolie writes in the Times piece. "My chances of developing breast cancer have dropped from 87 per cent to under 5 per cent. I can tell my children that they don't need to fear they will lose me to breast cancer."
McLean, realizing the publicity from Jolie’s announcement will likely mean an uptick in women wanting to be tested, she cautioned the BRCA1 gene is a rarity.
“The majority of women will not be in that same situation. But it’s worthwhile having an initial discussion with your primary-care provider to understand what your individual risks may be,” McLean said.
With a higher incidence of cancer in Northwestern Ontario, McLean recommended women with higher risks of breast cancer visit a genetics clinic for a consultation and consider genetic testing, which can be done in Thunder Bay.
“If she is found to be a carrier, then having a prophylactic mastectomy, removing both breasts would be an option for her,” McLean said.
“We certainly can do some of that follow-up here. But some of the surgery would have to be done out of town.”
McLean said she expects positive publicity surrounding Jolie is a good thing for women everywhere.
“I think it will improve awareness about breast health in general and I think more women will ask about it and try to understand their own risks, definitely,” she said.
