Angelina Jolie. Image from Wikipedia.
By Steve Klamkin and Kim Kalunian, WPRO News
Hollywood actress Angelina Jolie announced Tuesday in a New York Times op-ed that she underwent a double mastectomy. Jolie decided to have the preventative surgery after discovering she carried a gene that put her at a high risk of getting breast cancer.
Jolie, 38, lost her mother to breast cancer when she was 56.
Dr. Theresa Graves, a surgeon at Rhode Island Hospital who specializes in breast cancer treatment, applauds Jolie for publicizing her story.
“Someone as well-known as she is makes it easier for patients that are facing this to realize anyone can be in this situation,” she said.
She added, “To be so public about it allows women to feel that freedom and know so many other women have to face that problem.”
Graves said she and other surgeons can perform reconstructive surgeries for women who undergo mastectomies to make it look like “almost nothing happened.” She said those cosmetic procedures are highly important in a woman’s physical and emotional recovery.
Graves said Jolie’s op-ed brings attention, acceptance and awareness to the hard decisions some women have to make.
Find out more about breast cancer screening and treatment here.
