Angelina Jolie

[sp1814]

I find her publicly announcing her double mastectomy quite admirable. Over the past 24 hours, I know I've certainly found out more about the BRCA1 gene had she kept the treatment private.

Do you think (like some commentators have said) that she's receiving an undue amount of praise?

(I don't, by the way - I've always liked her, and now like her MUCH more).

[joggerjayne]

No, I think most people would agree she deserves all the praise she gets.

[ummmm]

No. I think she's been very brave.

[albaqwerty]

I liker her as an actress and as a human being.

Brad calling her heroic is a bit over the top imo, but she's brave to have announced it and to have gone through the procedure.

[joggerjayne]

I think it is pretty heroic. Even if I was told the risks, I'm not sure if I could do it. I'd want to bury my head in the sand and take my chances.

[rockyracoon]

Personally, I think she's brave to come forward and go public, but I don't consider her brave for going through the procedure itself.

[MustangLady]

She is certainly brave and I admire her for going public, this shows her strength of character ... and by doing so (by her being in the public eye) she has highlighted the disease even more, made people listen and I wouldn't doubt even helped others to consider things.
A very brave woman indeed.

[sp1814]

I'm thinking that her actions will lead women to get themselves tested, and that's a good thing. The nearest equivalent is when Kylie Minogue was diagnosed with cancer a few years ago.

After that story broke in 2005, testing in the UK increased by almost a third in women aged between 25 and 44 in the following six months (although the rate of detection didn't increase).

[China Doll]

She's always seemed a good egg to me. I'm not sure that I regard the decision as 'brave' exactly but the awareness she'll generate can't be a bad thing at all so to me she's done an admirable thing.

[LazyGun]

I have always been pre-disposed to like her, mostly I guess because of her physical beauty - but she is an impressive person, and if she is able to highlight the dangers and risks associated with BRCA then that it all to the good.

Her passion for humanitarian causes is admirable, as is the work she put in as special envoy on behalf of the UN.

I have heard some medical experts cautioning against rushing in to making a decision about a double mastectomy - ensuring you are fully aware of the relative risks, what other coping and management procedures might be available, but that is an entirely sensible observation.

Her wiki page makes for interesting reading...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Angelina_Jolie

[jake-the-peg]

Unfortunately this is a gene that has hit my familly quite badly - my wife has it and many of her familly - right now my daughter is about to go for the test to see if she's been lucky and picked up my gene or her mothers.

I find AJ's decision a little odd - the great danger is ovarian cancer because it's so difficult to pick up in screening which is why my wife had a preventative hysterectomy maybe she's having that that too but doesn't want to talk about it.

As we learn more about the genetic components of disease we may more of us be faced with these decisions about whether to be tested and have preventative procedures - probably a good thing but it's not easy to live with this sort of thing hanging over you

[Kromovaracun]

If you'd like to read the article Jolie wrote about all this, you can find it here:

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/05/14/opinion/my-medical-choice.html?_r=0

She says at one point that in her own case "my risk of breast cancer is higher than my risk of ovarian cancer" (though the latter is still c.50%.

I admire her decision, and as others have said I've also long admired her humanitarian work. Plus she brought Lara Croft to the big screen - which gave me a huge amount of joy when I was a kid.

[Octavius]

I can take her or leave her, not a fan but no dislike either.

In the main I guess most of those commentators are probably just bitter that she is getting yet more publicity - its not Jan Moir by any chance?

I would rather see more pages of this issue than the Man Utd / Fergie / Rooney tripe that keeps popping up on every news bulettin making national headlines rather than just 'sports news'.

[andy-hughes]

I think that anyone in the public eye who is drawing attention to health issues is always to be applauded.

i don't think she has gone public to achieve 'praise' - and to suggest so implies a degree of churlishness on behalf of said 'commentators' - but that is the risk you take in our culture-obsessed society.

As one memorable quote I heard has it - "Fame is like a barb-wire treadmill, you have to know exactly how to run on it, or it will tear you to pieces."

[rockyracoon]

JTP, just want to say, good luck to your daughter.

[jno]

After that story broke in 2005, testing in the UK increased by almost a third in women aged between 25 and 44 in the following six months (although the rate of detection didn't increase).

Nonetheless, if the rate stayed the same, but out of a larger pool, that would suggest more cases were actually found?

Even if they weren't, it was a good thing; and good for Angelina too.

[sp1814]

Yes jno.

I didn't think about that, but you're perfectly right!

JTP - I saw on the news that her chances of developing breast cancer were 87%, and that she's planning a hysterectomy at some point in the future (50% chance).

Oh, and I echo rockyracoon - best wishes to your wife and daughter.

[Bazile]

Does this particular gene pre-disposes you to different types of cancer , as opposed to breast cancer only ?

[Sqad]

Bazile...yes and No.

Different types of breast cancer and different types of ovarian cancer.

Breast and Ovaries only with these two "rogue " genes.

[Bazile]

Thanks for that sqad

I didn't realise that there are different types of breast and ovarian cancer .

You learn something new every day , as they say