Although I had promised you a report on the Stanislav Grof conference this weekend, I have changed my mind in light of the news today that the famous actress Angelina Jolie has decided to have her breasts removed as a preventative measure.
I was struck by the uninformed and malicious comments and remarks on most blogs and social media portals. Just to quote some of the dumbest: "Poor Brad Pitt, not only did he have to adopt a bunch of kids for a good number, now he has to say goodbye to his wife's sizable bumpers."
At Endoblog, we have already drawn attention to the need to address not only endometriosis, but all chronic diseases affecting women.Unfortunately, we cannot bury our heads in the sand, as the number of these diseases is constantly on the rise.
You can read about the importance of self-examination and how to do it in an older post: here.
At Endoblog, I am not in favour of unnecessary surgery, as prevention is the most important thing for me, and I work to help women avoid going under the knife, especially drastic procedures, if there is a way.
But we also need to know when we are at the point where we could pay with our lives if we refuse medical help.
Unfortunately, living a hyper-healthy diet or exercising daily cannot change genetic mutations. There is epigenetics, which is a branch of science that works on how we can influence the actual switching on, or more precisely, the switching off of genes as predisposing factors, but this research is still in its infancy.
Lifestyle, sport and stress management are the most effective ways to prevent acquired forms of cancer and as such are a really important part of a healthy lifestyle.
Taking all this into account, we can say that the actress' decision was a brave and considered one, allowing her to avoid her mother's fate and watch her children grow up.
To avoid any further misunderstandings, I asked Endoblog's resident expert Kristóf Árvai, a geneticist at Pentacore Laboratory molecular biologist to briefly tell us what we need to know about the subject.
"Today, Angelina Jolie's article in the New York Times ( http://www.nytimes.com/2013/
The malicious and less informed commentators (who were not typically New York Times readers) loudly mocked the actress' decision and instead saw Jolie's decision as a specific justification for the breast lift.
In contrast, the reality is that the celebrity was trying to draw attention to a very real and serious health problem by revealing her private decision to the press and the public.
Since 1995-1996, it has been scientifically known that certain gene defects clearly predispose the carrier (male or female!) to breast and ovarian cancer.
It is very important to note that it is not the disease itself that is inherited, but the predisposition to developing it that is greatly increased! A person who does not carry the gene defect has a 5% chance of developing malignant breast cancer in their lifetime, while if the gene defect is present, this chance increases to 87%. Science has subsequently identified other genes that also increase the risk of developing breast and ovarian cancer.
Breast cancer is the leading cause of death in our country, accounting for 7,500 new cases and 2,800 deaths each year, affecting one in eight women in their lifetime.
Modern therapies are constantly improving the life chances of patients, but the importance of prevention and early detection cannot be overemphasised. A more advanced stage of breast or ovarian cancer means dramatically worse chances compared to an early detected lesion.
Identifying people who are not themselves ill but who have a family history of malignant breast or ovarian cancer is particularly important in prevention, as they may themselves carry hereditary factors that cause the disease. 20-30% of all breast cancers detected may be caused by such an inherited genetic condition (mutation).
Most of these are caused by high-throughput mutations, mainly in the BRCA1 and BRCA2 linked to a gene. The chances of developing breast and ovarian cancer are significantly higher when such a gene mutation is present!The recommended therapeutic management of breast cancer with an identified genetic background is different from that of the sporadic individual form, and for this reason it is of paramount importance to know the presumed genetic background of the disease.
Note that if there is a genetic cause for breast cancer, the male members of the family are also at risk of hereditary breast cancer!
The actress' mother and grandmother were both in their 40s when they were diagnosed with the disease, which claimed both their lives after a long battle and Jolie's mother was only able to meet one grandchild out of six.
Angelina Jolie, now 37, opted for radical surgery (which leaves minimal marks after reconstructive surgery) so that she could see her children grow up and meet her future grandchildren.
It is important to note that the risk of breast cancer can indeed be reduced by healthy lifestyle and diet, but if the disease is genetically based, such a pathology is not affected in the least by alternative methods."
In Hungary, the popular running mum and influencer Réka Túróczi also has the same gene mutation, and she also opted for surgery. ITT read an interview with him.
Nóra Árvai
Books, info products HERE in EndoShop.
EN 
HU
Leave a Reply