Dear Commons Community,

In an op-ed piece in the New York Times on Monday, Angelina Jolie shocked her fans and many more with the disclosure that  she decided to have a preventive double mastectomy once she learned that she has a gene that greatly increases the risk for breast and ovarian cancers.  In a most candid revelation:

“MY MOTHER fought cancer for almost a decade and died at 56. She held out long enough to meet the first of her grandchildren and to hold them in her arms. But my other children will never have the chance to know her and experience how loving and gracious she was.

We often speak of “Mommy’s mommy,” and I find myself trying to explain the illness that took her away from us. They have asked if the same could happen to me. I have always told them not to worry, but the truth is I carry a “faulty” gene, BRCA1, which sharply increases my risk of developing breast cancer and ovarian cancer.

My doctors estimated that I had an 87 percent risk of breast cancer and a 50 percent risk of ovarian cancer, although the risk is different in the case of each woman.

Only a fraction of breast cancers result from an inherited gene mutation. Those with a defect in BRCA1 have a 65 percent risk of getting it, on average.

Once I knew that this was my reality, I decided to be proactive and to minimize the risk as much I could. I made a decision to have a preventive double mastectomy. I started with the breasts, as my risk of breast cancer is higher than my risk of ovarian cancer, and the surgery is more complex.”

Ms. Jolie has done women an incredible service by her decision and her public disclosure.   Her incredible high profile and beauty gives so much credibility to her candid revelations that women around the world will think most seriously about their risks for developing these deadly cancers.

Brava!!!

Tony