Melissa Etheridge Says Angelina Jolie's Mastectomy Is Fearful
I guess Melissa Etheridge still has not got over the Brad Pitt and Jennifer Aniston divorce thing since she performed at their wedding. Melissa is a breast cancer survivor and was asked about Angelina Jolie's double mastectomy. I guess the reporter was expecting that Melissa would call the decision brave, but Melissa called it fearful and said that there was nothing brave about it and it was not something she would have done. She says lots of people have that mutation, but never get cancer and that doing what Angelina did is way down the line of available options. "I have that gene mutation too, and it's not something I would believe in for myself. I wouldn't call it the brave choice. I actually think it's the most fearful choice you can make when confronting anything with cancer. My belief is that cancer comes from inside you, and so much of it has to do with the environment of your body. It's the stress that will turn that gene on or not. Plenty of people have the gene mutation and everything, but it never comes to cancer."
This is exactly why so many people that have cancer don't want to talk about it. It's bad enough that there is slut-shaming, but can we please not have cancer-shaming?!
ReplyDelete+1000. Her body - her choice how to handle that.... Remove them/don't remove them - but don't criticize others choices...
DeleteMelissa Etheridge should shut up. Truly. Focus on being the douchey ex-wife you are, Melissa.
ReplyDeleteTo each her own.
ReplyDeleteI'm not a huge Angelina fan but really, it's a well know, accepted procedure, she's not the only one who has had it done and its her body. Melissa Etheridge needs to shut up.
ReplyDeleteYikes, well *known*
ReplyDeleteI have no respect for her after what she did to her ex. Now this bitch is telling Angelina Jolie that her double mastectomy could have been avoided if she'd done yoga and did Goop cleanses to de-stress? She could've just stopped with "it's not a choice I'd make for myself."
ReplyDeleteVIP, cancer-shaming, perfect word for it.
Melissa Etheridge, MD.
ReplyDeleteI'm no doc, but the media coverage was pretty clear about the statistical likelihood that the gene mutation coupled with the immediate family cancer diagnosis gave Jolie a very high chance of getting cancer. Much worse than 50/50. YOU try staying calm for the rest of your life with that kind of information. She's got six kids to take care of and saw it kill her mother and aunt first-hand.
Fearful? Fuck you. What a shitty, shitty way to frame it. Yeah, I'll bet she's fearful -- scared shitless. And you're going to dismiss her feelings and medical knowledge like, "just chill out"? Fuck. You.
Enty -- Those blinds that were widely rumored to be about Etheridge and her ex back when they were splitting, I say bring on the reveals.
I love that you guys are calling Melissa a douche. The feminist inside me is beaming lol she's an ASSHOLE. A dirty dick that ruined my favorite character from Popular! She should be ashamed of herself, saying that about a disease she herself had and effects so many women. Angie raised SO MUCH awarenes by announcing this surgery... Are you jealous Melissa? Want her cooch and fame?
ReplyDeleteI'm not a huge Angeline fan either but for crying out loud, her body image is huge in her world. I am guessing she did this out of love for her kids and to love longer. I don't think it is appropriate to make her the Messiah but at the same time, I don't agree with the cancer-shaming as so perfectly put but VIPblonde.
ReplyDeleteCount me as one less Ethridge fan
ReplyDeleteAnd she had the gene.
ReplyDeleteAnd got cancer.
But says a lot of people have that gene and it doesn't turn to cancer. Even though it did for her.
Yeahhhhhhh
It's up to the individual what they should do. Can't criticize those who do have them removed and those who don't. It's their own business. Pity Melissa couldn't mind her own business.
ReplyDeleteOh dear, let me address my typos:
ReplyDelete*Angelina, not Angeline
*To live longer, not love longer
*Put by VIPblonde, not put but
What NomNom said.
ReplyDeleteEven if melissa THINKS this, she should keep her mouth clised. It is cancer shaming and its unforgivable. In this area we should all be supportive of each other.
ReplyDeleteJolie had an 87% chance of getting cancer. 87%!!! And had family history. So StFU Melissa.
ReplyDeleteWhere is the medical evidence that stress "turns the gene on"? LOL
ReplyDeleteEvery person has to make their own decision about their health. Angelina's mother, aunt, and grandmother all died at young ages of cancer. She did what she felt was right for herself and her family. Personally, I went out an scheduled a mammogram I'd been avoiding because of Angelina's story, no doubt many other women were triggered to think about it as well.
Stress does amazing (often amazingly bad) things to people's bodies, @HR Lady. Medically 'accepted,' not just urban myth. One being that it is correlated with incidence of mild and serious diseases, as well as recovery. Suggesting that part of ME's comment isn't the part to decry.
DeleteMore broadly, ME is entitled to have and share her opinion, but she could have made it more sensitively.
What were the blinds about her?
ReplyDeleteTo Melissa - to answer the question you've been harping about for years: yes, you're the only one.
ReplyDeleteActually guys, I was in agreement with what Angelina did until I did more research. Turns out, Melissa is almost 100% correct. It IS the most fearful choice to make. I wouldn't call it cancer shaming either, I think the best thing is for everyone to talk about it, because perhaps then more people know their options.
ReplyDeleteMelissa is an ass for criticizing. 83% is pretty high odds. The other BRCA gene is 87%. Having the gene also correlates with getting the cancer at a younger age too. It's not brave to wait and see when you have children. Breasts/ovaries are not as important as being there for your children and, geez, for yourself. Melissa was lucky her breast cancer was found early. I am watching friends die of ovarian who all have the gene and didn't find out until after they were diagnosed with the cancer.
Delete+1. Melissa was asked her opinion and she gave it. Her opinion/choice is just as valid as AJ's. I didnt read this as ME criticizing AJ.
DeleteWhy are you asserting that it is the most fearful choice? Give us something solid here.
DeleteAlso aren't you the commenter who made fun if breast feeding mothers who pump at work?
She and Jenny McCarthy should open up a practice together. o_O
ReplyDeleteShe should have kept her mouth shut. @just another... I took Health Psychology for my psych degree and genes can be activated by stress (chemical's released into the body like cortisol and constant adrenaline do tend to affect cells and nerve receptors and alter how your body would normally function) and environmental factors. You could have the mutation and it could never express your self or it could. The amount of stress and your outlook on how you will recover (or not recover) from cancer also affect your prognosis. I think Anjelina did what was right for her and Ethridge is just being a biatch.
ReplyDeleteFearful? Agreed. But AJ wants to LIVE and be there for her kids and I don't blame her. Chances are that she would develop cancer and this asshole wanted her to what, meditate? Fuck you, Etheridge.
ReplyDeleteShe's a dimwit.
ReplyDeleteI agree that Angie's decision was fear based. Cancer is scary especially when you've watched love ones battle it. I would not choose that option but my cancer risk isn't as high as Angie's.
ReplyDeleteYeah, you know what? Prophylactic mastectomies are not a "well-accepted" procedure. They're very controversial, and for very good reasons. We're talking about the amputation of health body parts, "just in case."
ReplyDeleteI'm really glad someone with serious credibility came forward and gave an opposing viewpoint. This isn't a decision that should be decided by a single celebrity endorsement. It should be an honest discussion of all sides of the question.
You know what, Jonathan Andrew Sheen? Melissa Etheridge saying stress turns on a cancer gene is hardly an "opposing viewpoint." If she'd said something like stress can increase your chances, or stress doesn't help, or anything other than: "My belief is that cancer comes from inside you." She basically blamed people who get cancer for getting cancer.
DeleteI'm not disagreeing with you that it's a discussion that needs to be had, and I'm glad Angelina sparked the conversation, but Etheridge's judge-y statements aren't discussion.
You had me till serious credibilty. She is not a doctor and that is the ONLY way she has any kind of serious credibilty.
DeleteBut yall are making me research this further. Which is the intended goal so kudos!
There will always be different options...and what Melissa said is true you just never know and lifestyle, stress all play a part.
ReplyDeleteConsidering that my mother had breast cancer at 45 and my father had his prostate removed 2 weeks ago due to cancer and it had already spread to the surrounding tissue, ya damn skippy that I want that test done! And if I gotta get a couple of breasts lopped off in the process so be it. I would rather have fake boobs than my kids have no mom.
ReplyDeleteWith Angelina, cancer was pretty much enevitable. Why not take preventive measures now while healthy rather than wait for it to show up and have a high likelihood of dieing?
A healthy dose of fear keeps a lot of people alive.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteWhy should she keep her mouth close for expressing her opinion? She said she has the same gene so her view is more credible than a man saying it.folks like Melissa tend to discredit others like Jolie who use their ailments to draw attention for their own selfishness. Or some women who treat their bodies like some Chinese puzzle that no man can figure out so don't try to understand them and let them do what they want .
ReplyDeleteKudos to Melissa for speaking her mind and not going along with the program.
It's kinda vile how people are saying Angie did it because she was selfish. That is beyond rude and belitting, esp since her mom had it. Her influence is invaluable, and you cannot deny that, no matter if she is selfish. SHE IS ALWAYS POSITIVE. Always. We need more celebs like her, talking about things that we can all relate to.
DeleteThe truth can be vile. Notice how the Entity was making sarcastic comments about Jolie after she brought "attention" to the cancer gene. She was so brave.....so daring .
DeleteI'm really glad someone with serious credibility came forward and gave an opposing viewpoint.
ReplyDeleteI wouldn't exactly call Melissa Etheridge someone with 'serious credibility' when it comes to this situation. If she were an oncologist at Johns Hopkins, or Roswell Park Cancer Institute... but she's a musician speaking in highly overgeneralized terms ("lots of people have that mutation"--oh really? Numbers?; "It's stress that will turn that gene on"--yeah, Jolie has no stress!). She may be relatively intelligent and well-spoken, but she is not privy to whatever process Jolie went through with her doctor/s.
I don't think anyone was advocating for anyone else to go and get proactive mastectomies willy-nilly, on the off-chance that one might, one day, possibly get breast cancer. Her situation has raised awareness of preventative measures and the importance of knowing your family history. I doubt Jolie made the decision lightly.
What really pisses me off is that Melissa is playing right into the whole "if you get sick, then you did something to deserve it" routine--medical Calvinism is alive and well, believe me. It's not just cancer-shaming, although there's way too much of that, but of disease and illness in general, and the whole bullshit notion of "oh, you're just not positive enough/didn't meditate/ate the wrong stuff/slept with the wrong people/lived in the wrong place/did something wrong, because otherwise you wouldn't be sick," and it follows pretty much the same mental pathways that shaming rape victims does:
ReplyDelete1. Something bad happened to this person
2. Bad things happen to people who did the wrong thing somehow
3. Since something bad happened to this person, they must have done something bad, and therefore they deserve what happened to them
4. I haven't done anything "wrong," therefore nothing bad will happen to me, and I don't have to care about people to whom bad things did happen
What these people need to realize, on a deep and molecular level, is that Shit Happens, and Can Happen To Anyone, no matter how positive an attitude they have or juice fasts they do (or how modest their clothing was or how careful they were when out in public, to continue the rape-shaming analogy). There are people who smoke, drink, screw around, do every drug imaginable, and somehow live to a ripe and happy old age; there are others who eat organic food, meditate, do yoga, don't smoke/drink/drug/sleep around, but who end up getting sick anyway, or getting into a life-altering accident of some kind. We'd like to believe that life is fair, but, sorry to say, it's not...it's a bitch, and that's the truth. (I also suspect this kind of "magical thinking" is behind a lot of the resistance to universal health care in this country, but that's an argument for another day...)
All anyone can do is the best they can do, and hope that things work out for them and for their loved ones. If I had been in Angelina's position of having 6 young children and seeing my mom, aunt and grandmother all dying of cancer, and then finding out I had an 87% likelihood of ending up the same way, you bet your ass I'd be booking that surgery ASAP. (Admittedly, I'd kind of miss the girls a whole lot, but I'd like to stay alive as long as possible, and I daresay people who care about me feel the same way. Tits are not necessary for life; even babies can be bottle-fed if necessary.
TL;DR: Hey, Melissa, do us a favorite and shut your piehole, will ya? You did what was right for you, and Angie did what's right for her, so quit giving New Age folks a bad reputation, and put a cork in it, eh?
I am learning stuff today!!! Lol. Medical calvinism? Looking it up now. Fascinated.
DeleteMy grandmother is 86, almost 87 and all she takes is Vitamin D pills for her vitligo and she smoke and drank for almost 50 years. You just never know and that scares people.
medical Calvinism?
DeleteLol, folks pally this all the time.
When Magic came out and said he was HIV+ , like Jolie ... He was hailed as a hero because after all...just like Jolie...he didn't have to tell us anything. He had courage and shit but then someone said he contracted HIV because he was fucking around. Why should he be held as a hero for saying so. Magic said he was HIV+ to protect his image. When men contract HIV/AIDS, the first thing the public question is his sexuality. Magic was trying to educate the public about HIV, the reason he told the public about his condition was to protect his bottom line .
@Just curious:
ReplyDeleteShe said she has the same gene so her view is more credible than a man saying it.
I'll have to disagree on the 'credible' just because she is a woman who has the same gene. She has only anecdotal experience to draw on; she had the gene; she had breast cancer (which, frankly, sort of undermines her point). Let's hear an actual oncologist with a specialty in this area speak up, and maybe I'll be swayed into thinking what Jolie did was 'selfish'. (It would be a pretty hard sell, TBH.)
Jolie issued a statement about her titty cancer and had every gyno,onco and gyro speaking on her behalf . Reps from Susan B. Komen were on tv praising Jolie for bringing awareness and a couple more donation$ to their fund.some actress on tv praise Jolie for going public with get condition considering her sex symbol status .
DeleteJolie played this shit to the media to keep her name out there . No different than Aniston and Kidman didn't speak about their divorce until they had a project to promote.
@Robin, ILU. :-)
ReplyDeleteI would love to throw Melissa ethridge into a pit of Dicks. What a douche. If its not your way of going about things that's fine, but don't be a bitch.
ReplyDeleteShe is such an asshole.
ReplyDeleteA big round of applause for Robin. You hit all the right points.
ReplyDeleteI second @Renoblondee.
ReplyDeleteFearful...I completely disagree. I'm fearful, and if I had the gene, I wouldn't have my breasts removed, unless that was my final option. I'm terrified of surgery and I won't even get a tattoo. I flipped out on my dentist when he filled my cavity last month.
ReplyDeleteThat is your personal choice. You know YOU and what YOU can handle better than anyone. But it's not a matter of agreeing or disagreeing- frankly, you don't own Angelina or Melissa's bodies so what is there for you to agree with? Are you a doctor?
DeleteI get Melissa's point that it IS a scary decision to have to make. However it's brave to move forward with the mastectomy. My friend who was a total jock, athlete, non-smoker, non-drinker who ate all organic died of breast cancer at 37 after fighting like hell for 6 years. I wish she'd had this test and could talk about how scary it was to have her breasts removed. Or to be able to talk about anything.
ReplyDeleteYes- bravery and courage don't exist without fear. Of course it's a fearful decision!
DeleteSorry to hear about your friend. Her healthy lifestyle spoke pretty clearly to the strength of genetics- sometimes you can do everything right and it still happens.
Who picks on someone for having a mastectomy? Seriously, who does that? That is fucking evil.
ReplyDeleteThinking about it, I don't think I've ever heard anyone say anything good about Melissa. No "she was so nice!" fan stories ever. All I ever hear about her is that she is very cheap (financially) towards her exes.
I think Melissa was actually right. But she just said it wrong and she never paid attention to the fact that Ang's mother died from cancer and she has a really high chance of getting cancer too. Do people get the masectomy out of fear of getting cancer? hell yes! But it is still a brave thing to do. Nobody who has ever witnessed someone go through cancer and chemo would ever want to go through that themselves. But Melissa is right that unless you have a family history of getting breast cancer at a young age you should probably wait until you reach menopause. Live a healthy life and try to avoid stress as much as possible. I really believe that part of the reason that my mother got cancer was from so much stress. She has always stressed out over the simplist things her whole life, and since she's been living with me I've really been trying to teach her to let things go and to stop worring about everybody elses problems.
ReplyDeleteI had cancer in one breast and opted to have both removed. I took the test before my surgery and found that I do not have the BRCA1 gene, and was still confident in my decision.
ReplyDeleteI am an anxious person and also a very busy person with a long list of things to do left on this Earth. None of them required one, much less two breasts so it was a no brainer.
I considered it similar to replacing all tires when one goes bad. No more worries for me.
The Melissa/Angelina debate is one that has gone on within the breast cancer community for years. People just like to compare and compete in order to justify their own actions.
And despite the dozens of people who asked me what caused my cancer, I refuse to believe it was anything that I brought on, nor did my positive/negative thinking have anything to do with it.
I'm glad you had both yours removed I argued with my mother for a while over why she only had the one removed. But she trusted her surgeon who said the breast was healthy and no reason to do it. They calculated her risk factor of the cancer returning to 45% and after she went through chemo she said she would never do it again if the cancer ever returns. I understand it was her decision and I respect that but it is frustrating to me since I'm the caregiver and I would be the one to have to be strong for her again and watch her die.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Melissa.
ReplyDeleteThe words, "you have cancer", or "you have the gene that may lead to cancer" will scar anyone shitless. Which is totally understandable.
What I don't understand is why no Dr. ever suggests to their patients that they change their lifestyle and try alternative treatments. The Slash, burn and poison method of treating cancer has been around for decades. And, have left more dead than alive.
There has to be another way. To sacre a patient with inflated stats, and give them no other solution is criminal. Big pharma makes money and the Dr. gets a long term patient to experiment on. Never do they tell their patients tha the drugs that will be administered to them CAUSE other caners. Chemo usually kills one cancer and creates another. Radiation also CAUSES cancer. Again, kills one to create another. How is this treatment?
The truth is we all have pre-cancerous cells in our bodies. Most never turn into full blown cancer. Change of enviornment, change in food ingested, change in sress levels helps a great deal. There are always exceptions to those rules, but a cleaner living does th ebody good.
The Dr.s and drug companies rely on the patients fear to make money off of surgeries and the drugs that are involved in chemo treatments.
Does a preventative double mastectomy help, maybe. Would I have done it, never. Having both breasts removed for the possibility of getting breast cancer in the future doesn't make any sense to me. Would any man in his righ tming cutt off his testicles in an attempt to keep testicular cancer at bay? Doubt it.
Dr.s are happy to cut women up (removal of the uterus, breasts) scheduled c-sections you name it in record numbers. Yet, hesitate to do so on men.
Maybe I just see this different. They are breasts, not an essential body part! They reconstructed her and she is likely better than before and now she never has to worry about that. Seems to be that trading something that is eventually going to sag and droopy for a longer, less fearful life is a no brainer. Who wants to live their life waiting for a time bomb in your body to go off if you can defuse it?
ReplyDeleteLoL,I knew this big breastsd chick whi gad enormous titties with a belly to match( my guess is to hold her puppies up). She had a breast reduction because her back hurt and after all...."they (breasts) were just fat" as she put it.
Deleteshe said it like it isn't an appropriate response. if you had a choice and knew with 95% certainty that one choice would result in a serious danger to your health; would you make a different choice? its nice to have information and options.
ReplyDelete(completely unrelated; Melissa is a BITCH)
Etheridge had 1 decent album 100years ago. Only thing she has done since is help David Crosby have more illegitimate kids. Why does anyone care what she says?
ReplyDeleteWait. So I am hypervigilant about esophageal cancer awareness and advocate for others getting their acid reflux checked because those who have it have a greater chance, with or without Barrett's esophagus. I am on at least 2 Different meds for acid reflux and for my stomach because of a very high correlation of developing gastric cancer because it was a full blooded sibling. This isn't counting that when I was younger I had cervical cancer that (thanks be to God) that also increases risk. Both sets of grandparents died of cancer and my dad has spots of it in his kidneys that can't get treated because of crappy insurance.
ReplyDeleteThe genes that can help identify breast cancer oodds have recently been linked to genetics with esophageal cancer (which is usually not caught until Stage IV). If I knew there was even a possibility of this ooccurring with me, I would undergo surgery to get my esophagus partly removed and so e of my stomach as well in all attempts to ensure a higher degree of safety. Nothing is guaranteed but I have been first hand witness to what happens when a 32 Year old otherwise healthy dies a slow, painful, heartbreaking death who learned how to truly live when the diagnosis came down and will never watch his 5 year old nephew, my son, grow up.
that's fine if people make their own choices, but MAKING comments critisizing others' choices is disgusting and terrible. Maybe because I have seen with so many family members. Maybe it's because I saw a beautiful young man die as I was holding his hand. Cancer doesn't just affect those diagnosed, it affects so many others that love them. She's
this doesn't make me think that Etheridge is a bad person but for someone who talks about tolerance towards others she seems to do it when it's convenient for her to do so. I also could have strangled Michael Douglas making light of his throat (esophageal) cancer from oral sex. I don't care if it was a joke. Cancer has destroyed my family and although I am thankful he has been able to manage for so long with treatment, my brother along with many others are not. It's really insensitive and if he would contribute half his fortune to esophageal cancer research maybe there would be more research into it because it is so underfunded and the 5 Year mortality rate aftidiagnosis is almost 0%.
yeah I am emotional about this and I am not apologetic for it at all. God needed an extra special angel and that's why he needed my brother Home so early, but it doesn't make it any easier for my parents' broken lives and hearts.
A majority of the women in my family have the gene and I'm too scared to go through with the final testing because I know that my decisions will be very difficult if it turns out I have it as well. If the women in my family who have all suffered through cancer could go back, I'm sure they would have had the procedure. In fact, one of my aunts elected to have her ovaries out (the gene also indicates a higher rate of ovarian cancer) and good thing she did--when she went for her pre surgical checkup they saw that the cancer had just started to develop.
ReplyDeletePersonally, I'm not sure I could go through with it :(
Ugghhh. Melissa should take care of herself with the methods that are best for her and Angelina should take care of herself with the method that is best for her. Period. Melissa isn't an expert or a doctor. Her opinion isn't relevant and she shouldn't have even been asked for it. I realize celebrities put themselves out in front of everyone, but I hate that we've become a society that feels entitled to judge one another's healthcare choices.
ReplyDeleteI'm not a fan of either of these women. That said, Angelina Jolie made a decision for herself, involving her own body. Notice those words. Her. Body. Nobody has the right to carp from afar about this decision.
ReplyDeleteMy feelings might be coloured by the fact that I had both my breasts removed (not an actual mastectomy, however, just a radical breast reduction) because they and the skin under them kept becoming infected and were threatening my life. I did not have reconstructive surgery either. It was a decision I made with input from my doctors and my husband. I'd not take kindly to strangers' remarks that I was acting out of fear.
I think it's good to keep the discussion going and offer different points of view, but I don't think Melissa should criticize anyone for their personal decisions.
ReplyDeleteAnd it's ridiculous to say that cancer comes from negativity, stress, etc. There are KIDS diagnosed with cancer everyday too, it's not a stressed out adult only problem.
I think ME is 100% in the wrong here. I would not say that a world renown beauty having her breasts removed to ensure she lives long enough to see her children grown up isn't brave. Who in the hell is she to judge? AJ saw her mom die. It is a horrible thing watching your mom suffer with cancer. I know. Fuck her.
ReplyDeleteIt seems not too many women like AJ, and I am not a fan, but damn. Anyone who has to deal with cancer or even the hint of it is braver than most of us, because they have to be, but that doesn't make it any less brave.
I read ME's response elsewhere. It didn't sound like an attack.
ReplyDeleteHow do we know this was a choice and AJ wasn't diagnosed with cancer?
Notice how plenty of people in prison die of cancer?
Notice how Presidents, their wives don't die of cancer?
I have questions for lots of people. I once saw a lady almost 90 whose breast looked like a shriveled prune. She was alive and kicking. Like I said, I have questions.
If I was Angelina, I'd kick Etheridge in the nuts.
ReplyDeleteSo let me get this straight...Angelina Jolie is so concerned about getting cancer that she's willing to get both her breasts and possibly her ovaries removed-but she's not too concerned to stop pumping botulism into her head. Right.
ReplyDeleteI agree with just curious about the reasons these celebs make this information known. Angie Jo timed hers to align with Pitt's stinker of a movie. Everyone knows if WWZ bombs, Pitt is going to have a hell of a time getting his movies made in Hollyweird.
ReplyDeleteBettie Housewife, 'cos chemo and botox are totally the same, right?
ReplyDeleteI think Melissa Ethridge is right, to a degree. Angelina made a choice (which is her right) to remove her breasts to prevent the cancer. I can understand she didn't want to end up dying young like her mother.
ReplyDeleteHowever I do think this is very extreme. It is still an operation which leaves you open to infection and a weakened immune system. It is not as simple as getting a hair cut. Surely if you are aware you have the gene, knowing the signs and symptoms and regular checkups can be a preventive? You are after all cutting out healthy flesh.
And no one seems to really be discussing who this option is available to. Can regular women afford this procedure? I think in the UK you would have to fund this privately as it would be a preventative not curative procedure and possibly classed as cosmetic.
Angelina has raised awareness of the genes, but I think advocating regular checkups would be more beneficial for the majority of women.