I'm having my healthy breasts removed at 22 [not stupid or sick article]

Telegraph (UK) ^ | 1/7/04 | Jon Crowley

[Iwo Jima]

Can we all agree that this unfortunate young woman had a terrible decision to make and that she made a reasonble decision under the circumstances which we should all respect?

Whether or not you or I would have made the same decision is not the point. In fact, I submit that whether she made the "right" decision is totally irrelevant, and that in fact such discussions are downright offensive.

Who among us knows what is the "right" price to pay for peace of mind. And the potential to grow old with our children and grand children.

[EGPWS]

Prostate cancer is nothing to jest about. The stats say that at age 60,6 out of every 10 men will get it,at 70,7 out of every 10 men,at 80,8 out of every 10 men AWILL get it and so one.Just get tested every year (it's only a simpled blood test!),after you turn 50-55.When caught early,prostate cancer is about 99.9& curable;unlike breast and ovarian cancer.

I appreciate your show of simplicity to maintain longevity in life, however I am the perfect show of health, even after my 4" tear in my aorta, "4"....YEARS ago, after a long day at work in the heat today, I think I'll have a beer, relax, and go to bed and have a smoke then rest.

John Ritter, to his demise didn't follow stats, but then again I didn't either, so why did he cack in 45 seconds, and I am still alive 4 years later?

Hell, I'll just flip to the backside of the nickle and read the logo.

[Saundra Duffy]

It just seems so harsh but if it prevents breast cancer then it will be worth it.

[neverdem]

I glanced at the title and surmised that there was a very strong family history of breast cancer and that she tested positive for brca1 and brca2. Was I wrong? There are a bunch of interesting stories tonight.

[cyborg]

It just says she tested with a 90% chance of getting breast cancer. I don't know what I would do in her position being so young. But yes between radical surgeries and rabid donors, it's going to be a fine weekend!

[cyborg]

http://cis.nci.nih.gov/fact/3_62.htm

[Slings and Arrows]

The link in post 106 may be of interest.

[Slings and Arrows]

Thanks!

[cyborg]

Who cares about what? Ever lose a loved one to breast cancer?

[Dianna]

Who among us knows what is the "right" price to pay for peace of mind. And the potential to grow old with our children and grand children.

I really can't imagine spending my whole life worrying about "when" I would get breast cancer. It's terrible to contemplate.

I wonder if they can they completely remove ALL breast tissue?

[Slings and Arrows]

*sniff* *sniff* I smell ozone...

Was that a "meow"?

[cyborg]

Or someone who went to pour milk in his/her coffee and found pee instead!

[Slings and Arrows]

I hate it when that happens.

[cyborg]

LOL

[tortoise]

With the EXTREMELY rapid improvements in anti-cancer therapies, this seems foolish. By the time she is likely to express the cancerous tendencies, the medical technology will be far better than what it already is.

Thanks to the rapid advance of biotech, cancer is starting to be aggressively squashed. And there is a truckload of new stuff already in clinical testing. Cancer isn't beat, but we are entering an era where we are just beginning to become very good at defeating it. I wonder what the average onset age was for her grandparents. If she has even a ten year window, this was damn stupid. The stuff coming down the immediate pike is pretty awesome.

[Iwo Jima]

No, they don't remvove 100% of the breast tissue. It's more like 90%. They leave the skin and some remnants of tissue attached to the skin. The thinking is that the cancer prone tissue is more interior, and that what is left is reasonable and will allow her to have some realistic breast reconstruction done.

Amy woman in this predicament has a lot of decisions to make, but thank goodness she has choices.

[Captain Peter Blood]

This hideous medical procedure has been around about 100 years and still medical science has not found a way to treat breast cancer in a more high tech humane way.
This woman is making a decision now that may be quite unnecessary and certainly irrevocable.

We have, since Nixon declared the war on cancer in the early 1970's, spent 10's if not Hundreds of billions of dollars on research and I sometimes wonder what has really been accomplished.

With all the money spent on research we should have better and more preventive cancer treatments out there. To think we are still using this type of surgery and chemo is very disappointing.

[nopardons]

You were lucky,but there's no point to get snippy with me,for stating the bleeding obvious.