Being a woman in America, I have been offered so many different options for preventative medicine in my life.
There are Gardisil shots for preventing cervical cancer, or birth control for pregnancy prevention and, of course, the average flu vaccine. At a certain age I’ll start getting mammograms to check for breast cancer, and after a certain point, colonoscopies will be part of the regular agenda.
Another preventative measure that I can take is a test for mutated BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes. A mutation in these genes means that there is a genetic element that increases a woman’s risk of breast and ovarian cancers. Since these tests have started to be administered to more women, there has been steep rise in the number of women getting preventative double mastectomies.
Probably the biggest spotlight shone on this issue was when Angelina Jolie announced she would be getting the preventative surgery although she hadn’t been diagnosed with breast cancer. CNN reported that “in a global study conducted by Dr. Steven Narod, senior scientist at Women’s College Research Institute in Toronto, the United States had the highest rate of prophylactic mastectomy in BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutation carriers.”
While America is often painted as a vain and image-oriented country, this statistic seems to contradict the reality that more women are having their breasts removed before there’s a real infection.
My grandmother was diagnosed with and overcame breast cancer, giving me a little reason to think I could have it some day, but it’s never really kept me up at night.
Some people have families where multiple women are taken by this disease and talk about it like a constant cloud hanging over their head, which is why they turn to the surgery. And now that there’s such a prominent celebrity standing behind the decision, more women will be willing to undergo the procedure.
Breast cancer is a traumatic and life-changing event, and I don’t mean this next statement to belittle anyone’s struggle with it in the slightest, but it seems like more and more women are admitting defeat in a battle that hasn’t even started.
Videographers from Glamour magazine documented a woman undergoing the surgery as a part of its “Screw You Cancer” campaign. The title is obviously trying to send a message that she’s beating cancer by getting the surgery. But what if she never gets cancer? How can she truly be sticking it to this disease when she hasn’t contracted it yet?
Plus, the state of medicine today is getting continually better, as advancements and breakthroughs are made daily. Cancer treatment is better than ever, and although I understand some women don’t want to leave it to chance, I can’t help but wonder otherwise.
The BRCA1 and BRCA2 gene tests are at best a statistical analysis of risk. Every case is different, yet women are starting to take these test results as predictions rather than warnings.
All of the 5ks and fundraisers and ribbons out there to raise money for breast cancer research are centered on the idea of saving women and their breasts from cancer.
“Save the tatas” has always been my favorite slogan, but can cutting them off preventatively be labeled as a victory, or are we just trying to beat cancer to the punch?