My mother fought breast cancer for almost a decade and died at 56. My children never have the chance to know her and experience how loving and gracious she was.We often speak of “Mommy.s mommy”, and they 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. Once I knew that this was my reality, I decided to be proactive and to minimize the risk as much as I could. My own process began on Feb. 2 with a procedure known as a “nipple delay”, which rules out disease in the breast ducts behind the nipple and draws extra blood flow to the area. This causes some pain and a lot of bruises, but it increases the chance of saving the nipple. Two weeks later I had the major surgery, where the breast tissue is removed and temporary fillers are put in place. The operation took eight hours. Nine weeks later, the final surgery is completed with the reconstruction of the breasts with an implant. On April 27, I finished the three months of medical procedures that the mastectomies involved. I wanted to write this to tell other women that the decision to have a mastectomy was not easy. But it is one I am very happy that I made. My chances of developing breast cancer have dropped from 87 percent to under 5 percent. I can tell my children that they don.t need to fear they will lose me to breast cancer. The cost of testing for BRCA1 and BRCA2, at more than $3,000 in the United States, remains an obstacle for many women. Life comes with many challenges. The ones that should not scare us are the ones we can take on and take control of.
1-1、Angelina Jolie never have the chance to know her mother and experience how loving and gracious she was.
A、√
B、×
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