The tragic part is that BRCA testing costs $3,000 and is not covered by insurance. Makes it hard for many at-risk women to get the testing. I was not a fan of Angelina Jolie until now. She made a courageous decision and one that is usually kept private. To use her celebrity status to bring this issue to the forefront is an incredible act to me.
Most women see breasts as far more than just a way to feed an infant. They are very much a part of our sexuality, femininity. To remove them is a very difficult decision, especially to have both removed to increase future survival takes courage.
Add to this the fact that she plans to have an oophorectomy (ovarian removal) in the near future shows a woman making some very careful decisions about her health and physicians giving a woman all facts and letting her make the choices that are best for her. To have someone belittle both her decisions and the double mastectomies by claiming this is unnecessary surgery is beyond the pale to my mind.
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Army/embassy brat - traveled too much to mention
Moved here from SF Bay Area (East Bay)
"There are only two ways to live your life: One is as though nothing is a miracle; the other is as though everything is a miracle." Albert Einstein
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