Dr. Otis Brawley, the chief medical officer of the American Cancer Society, is on the record with a quick post on Angelina Jolie’s startling announcement in a New York Times op-ed that she has had a prophylactic double mastectomy to cut her inherited risk of breast cancer. Jolie’s mother, actress Marcheline Bertrand, died of cancer at age 56, and Jolie found through genetic testing that she carries the BRCA1 gene.
Brawley, who has been an outspoken critic of overtesting, answers many important questions that Jolie’s decision raises.
Should all women have the genetic test? No, says Brawley, but they should all have a conversation with their doctors.
Are insurers required cover the genetic tests? What about the preventive surgery? Brawley says:
Brawley points out that only a small number of breast cancers are linked to genetic risk factors, but women, like Jolie, who are at high risk should know it. He warns women to proceed cautiously and get a second opinion before deciding to have a preventive surgery. “Nonetheless, after careful consideration, this might be the right choice for some women,” Brawley writes.
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