Would you do an 'Angelina Jolie' ...?

[dani_tinks]

Absolutely.

 

[Pink Flowers]

I would, I have seen a close family friend go through it and I couldn't put my family through it x

 

[AP]

Yep I would

I met an amazing lady in the park 2 weeks ago who had her breasts removed due to breast cancer. She is 60, and spent her years counselling young ladies going through the same. She commented on the fact she had both breasts removed, so she didnt have to make up for the other ykwim?
I said " But hey, at the end of the day they are only breasts right?"
She said "no, people tend to say that, but a lot of the young girls I have dealt with dont see it that way"

i get it now, they arent "only breasts"

 

[Mazzy17]

I would! It would be a huge change to get rid of these bad boys(L cups) but life wins over big boobs any day!!!

 

[Pearls18]

Absolutely, my only reservation would be breastfeeding, if I was a long way off TTC and already late 20s I would have them removed, but if I had the genetic test done and was planning on TTC in the next couple months I would have the baby first breastfeed and then get them removed, if the doctor approved. Did Angelina get implants? Do implants make it harder to see any lumps and detect cancer because she still has a less than 5% chance it doesn’t completely eradicate the chance?

 

[discoclare]

Difficult to know for sure, but I think I probably would.

 

[mellyboo]

I would definitely do it!

 

[Kerlouet]

I would and probably will have to. On my mums side nearly every woman has or has had breast and/or cervical cancer so I will probably have everything removed at some point. Will be doing testing too

 

[Rachel_C]

I definitely would. I've had just three months of a fairly 'mild' chemo before and also watched my grandma live through four years of on-off chemo. It isn't something I would wish on my worst enemy. If the chances were much increased over the average woman's, yes I would do it in a heartbeat. I would want to wait until after I'd finished BF but then I'd do it asap. My boobs would probably look better for being reconstructed anyway.

 

[lau86]

Yes I would. My boobs are horrible anyway, I'm not attached to them and if I knew I had a huge risk of breast cancer I would see them as a ticking time bomb

Just read that back... I'm not attached to my boobs.... I know what I meant when I was writing it

 

[sweetlullaby]

I would do it in a heartbeat.

My mum has had the genetics test and if she had of came back testing positive for the gene I would have been called to get tested as well. Luckily she came back clear but if she had of tested positive and I had of tested positive I wouldn't think twice about getting them taken off.

 

[pompeyvix]

Thanks for everyone's replies.

It's a no brainer isn't it.

There is a lot of cancer on both sides of my family, but not in one particular area. It does make me worry.

I am not sure if anyone can just have a genetic test or only those who have a family history. I guess you could go private.

 

[Pearls18]

My auntie had breast cancer (but thankfully was fine this was many years ago) so they did a test to see if it was genetic which it was so for this reason her daughter and my mum go for mammograms every year even though they're younger than 50, I don't think they had any tests done themselves, I'm not sure if it's something I need to be weary of? We don't have much cancer in our family *touchwood* strokes are my family's nemesis.

 

[socitycourty]

i would if i had that big of a chance, for sure

 

[onetwothreebp]

I would absolutely do it if I had the numbers she did. Like others have said, anything over a 25% and I would start to seriously consider it. I would not want my children to grow up without me because I was shallow and wanted breasts to define me.

 

[meli1981]

I dont think its about breasts defining you, they are every much a part of your body as your legs arms, etc. It woyld be a very hard decision for me, my grandma had her leg amputated, and i see how it has affected her. Not just physically but emotionally as well. If my numbers were as high as hers, my desision might be easier as i cant live without my kids, and i dont want them to live without me

 

[onetwothreebp]

They are a part of my body, yes, but they don't define me as a female and I could easily go without them if it meant living.

 

[meli1981]

Would you get implants tho?

 

[Sarahkka]

Yes I would. My boobs are horrible anyway, I'm not attached to them and if I knew I had a huge risk of breast cancer I would see them as a ticking time bomb

Just read that back... I'm not attached to my boobs.... I know what I meant when I was writing it

Actually, those are almost exactly the words used by a woman who had the same operation done (with Jolie's odds) in an article I read several years ago. I totally remember her being quoted as saying, "I felt like dancing down the hospital halls, singing "They're gone! They're gone!" It was like someone had finally removed the ticking time bomb aimed at my chest."

I can empathize with this. What would it be like always worrying, wondering, anxious about every little odd sensation or feeling in your breasts? Just awful, I would imagine. I can well believe that removing the source of that anxiety and doom would be pretty liberating!
But I do also agree with those who say that removing your breasts is not a small thing to do. I would not hesitate if I were facing such odds, but at the same time, I would grieve their loss. It might not be quite the same thing as losing a leg or a hand, but breasts have a huge impact on our sense of self. Even with a new set, I would expect a significant sense of loss and adjustment.
I just read that Jolie is going through another operation to remove her ovaries. I believe it was ovarian cancer that finally took her mum? Again, scary and brave and kudos to her for sharing.
Truly, she didn't have to share any of it. That's what I find particularly brave and classy in her case. She could have kept all of this private (as she has a perfect right to do). No one would have been the wiser with the resources she would have. I've seen colossal ignorance and criticism of her decision all over the web. She isn't just getting praise for this. All sorts of ignorant creeps are saying things like, "What a tragedy - those were great tits" to "This is a travesty. If she had just followed this diet, she would have reduced her risk". I expect that Ms.Jolie, having been under the celeb microscope for many years, is pretty savvy about how to use that attention for things that matter to her. But at the same time, here she is recovering from a surgery that had to have been somewhat frightening and deeply emotional and she is still committed enough to raising awareness that she opens herself up to all those disgusting, ignorant comments.
I am very impressed by her courage.

 

[onetwothreebp]

Would you get implants tho?

That's a good question. I probably would because I think the lack of breasts would make fitting clothes a lot harder, and I am fond of them, don't get me wrong. However, if that wasn't an option, I would be okay with that too.