When word surfaced that actress and activist Angelina Jolie had chosen to undergo surgery to remove her ovaries and fallopian tubes to ward off cancer, it immediately raised the question of how to proactively manage the threat of cancer when there’s a heredity risk.
Sharlene Hesse-Biber, a Professor of Sociology and Director of the Women’s and Gender Studies at Boston College, says every woman should look at their own family history of breast cancer or any kind of cancers in their family, especially if they’ve had any type of cancer before the age of 40 or 50.
Hesse-Biber, who authored the book, “Waiting For Cancer To Come: Genetic Testing and Women’s Medical Deicison Making for Breast and Ovarian Cancer, says, “getting heredity cancer goes through a family line, a maternal or paternal line, because men also get breast cancer. It’s important if you’re of eastern-European Jewish descent, there are specific mutations that occur more frequently."
For many women who find they have the BRCA1-gene mutation, screening she says is important in general.
A woman's risk of developing breast and/or ovarian cancer is greatly increased if she inherits a deleterious (harmful) mutation in the BRCA1 gene or the BRCA2 gene.
Insurance is often a consideration in obtaining prophylactic mastectomies ( removal of the breasts with little to no prior evidence of breast cancer.) Hesse-Biber says,” very often genetic testing companies will sometimes wave the fee, but often insurance companies will pay, if you have a previously identified mutation in your family or ancestry that suggests you’re at higher risk. "
Ovarian cancer is much more difficult to detect in women.
Hesse-Biber says,” there’s really no widespread screening to detect ovarian cancer early. And even some task forces on preventative medicine don’t always recommend women get yearly screenings for ovarian cancer, unless those women harbor the BRCA1-gene mutation or have a high family history, because it’s not easy to detect.”
She says we don’t live in a pink culture surrounding this type of cancer, meaning there’s a lack of funding surrounding research for ovarian cancer or an online presence that breast cancer research has had in recent years.
"Knowledge is power, a sentiment echoed by Angelia Jolie, but having prophylactic surgery doesn't necessarily remove all the risk, because tissue can still be left behind, there's no complete and one-hundred percent proof that everything will be fine," according to Hesse-Biber.
She says, "It's a choice, a difficult choice for women, but it's important for women to feel empowered and to consult and get resources about their decisions."
To listen to the entire interview click on the audio file above.
