Angelina Jolie Pitt: She removed her ovaries due to the genetic mutation she inherited

Angelina Jolie Pitt

Only few individuals knew that the actress, filmmaker and activist had her breasts removed two years ago. Angelina Jolie had an insight of been a much higher than usual risk of breasts and ovarian cancer. She has a harmful mutation of the BRCA 1 gene she inherited. According to researchers, mutations in this particular gene give women a 65% lifetime risk for breast cancer and a 39% lifetime risk of ovarian cancer. Jolie’s mother had breast cancer and died of ovarian cancer, and her grandmother also had ovarian cancer. This analysis was what prompts Jolie to remove her breast and ovaries for she said her own particular set of mutation genes gives her an 87% risk. Debbie Martin her aunt, died of breast cancer at age 61, less than two weeks Jolie had a double mastectomy

She took the decision to go for the ovariectomy because study revealed last year that people with certain BRCA1 mutations can cut their risk by as much as 80 percent if they get their ovaries removed by age 35. The researchers said ovary removal should become standard for anyone with so-called BRCA1 mutations.

Ovarian cancer kills 15,000 women a year in the United States. Only 46 percent of women diagnosed with ovarian cancer survive for five years or longer. That’s mostly because the disease usually is detected late, after it has started to spread. Jolie had a blood test for a compound called CA-125. It’s produced by ovarian tumors and is a good way to check to see how well treatment for ovarian cancer is working. It’s not such a good test for finding ovarian cancer in the first place, however. There is no good screening test yet.

The treatment for ovarian cancer usually involves a harsh process, the first step is surgery to remove the ovaries and surrounding affected tissue. That can include the mean parts of the colon and bladder, as well as the uterus, depending on how far the cancer has spread. Chemotherapy is also almost always given, usually the so-called platinum-based drugs such as cisplatin or carboplatin, plus a taxane drug such as paclitaxel. Women may receive the drugs intravenously and also infused into the abdominal cavity.

The side effects include hair loss, nerve damage, nausea, hearing damage and kidney damage. Radiation therapy is also common and it can damage nearby organs and tissues, causing incontinence, rash, upset stomach and pain.

Word of advice: Prevention is better than cure.