Angelina Jolie Undergoes Preventative Double Mastectomy

Actress Angelina Jolie announced today in a New York Times op-ed piece that she recently underwent a double mastectomy to cut her chances of developing breast cancer after discovering she carries the "faulty" gene, BRCA1.

Jolie wrote she decided to receive genetic testing since she was at a higher risk of breast cancer — her mother fought the disease for almost a decade before dying at age 56 — and because she wanted to make sure she would be there for her children, according to her New York Times column. 

Identifying cancer genes

A woman carrying the BRCA1 mutation increases her risk of developing breast cancer 60-85 percent, according to Dr. Dana Zakalik, M.D., the director of cancer genetics at Beaumont. After having a double mastectomy, the risk of developing cancer drops by 90 percent, she said. 

A woman who carries the BRCA1 mutation also increases her risk of developing ovarian cancer by 25-45 percent, Zakalik said.

'It is difficult to screen for ovarian cancer, so a woman with the mutation is often counseled to have her ovaries and fallopian tubes removed, too," she said.

The BRCA1 gene is a tumor-suppressing gene that is carried by both men and women, Zakalik said. Harmful mutations of the gene can lead to cancer.

"A red flag that you carry the mutation is a history of early onset breast cancer in your family or a history of multiple cases of breast cancer or ovarian cancer. Or you have a member of your family with a known BRCA mutation," Zakalik said.

Men with the mutation also have an increased risk of developing male breast cancer or prostate cancer, she said.

"It is important to know your family history from both sides of your family," Zakalik said.

It is highly recommended that a person with expertise in genetics performs the blood test for BRCA1 variant. The test is costly, but in most cases it is covered by insurance companies, Zakalik said.

"It is much cheaper to prevent cancer than to treat it," she said.

Last November, Beaumont hosted Michigan’s first day-long Community BRCA Cancer Conference for area residents seeking the most up-to-date information about hereditary cancer risks and guidelines for cancer screenings and treatments.