By Columnsig
May 17, 2013 12:00 AM
When I was a teenager, I babysat for a sweet little blond girl who lived in my neighborhood. She grew up to be a lovely young woman who became a nurse, married and had three children of her own.
She was in her late 20s when she was first diagnosed with breast cancer. By the age of 37, she was dead.
I also know several women who were barely in their teens when their mothers died — far too soon — of breast cancer. Years later, the pain of their early loss lingers and so does their fear that they might some day have to deal with the same terrible disease.
As for me, I was in high school when my Mom told me that she had "found a lump." She tried to ease my concerns but I could tell she was worried, too.
In the end, she didn't have cancer, but I've never forgotten the stress of that awful week as she awaited the test results.
Every time I go for my annual mammogram, I mentally hold my breath until I get the all-clear ...
While I know the statistics — that heart disease kills more women than breast cancer — for us females, that doesn't make the latter any less fearsome. Still, I'm grateful that I live in a time when the options for women with breast cancer go beyond disfiguring surgery and the prognosis, less and less often, is a death sentence.
That's why it puzzles me that a columnist named Olivia Barker, writing earlier this week in USA Today, harshly took actress Angelina Jolie to task for going public with her decision to have a prophylactic double mastectomy. Jolie, 37, in an op-ed piece in the New York Times, revealed she has the BRCA1 gene, a mutation which studies have shown greatly increases the risk of breast cancer.
In Jolie's case, that means an 87 percent chance of getting it. The mother of six young kids, she didn't like the odds so she did something about it. Who's to argue with that?
Barker, who it turns out is herself battling breast cancer, conceded that Jolie was smart to have the surgery. But that's about all she gives her.
She criticizes her for publicly talking about it and seems especially upset that some have called Jolie "heroic" for going through what she has gone through.
Barker obviously doesn't buy that. In fact, she writes that Jolie is "broadcasting a surgery that's more headache than hardship."
While Barker has obviously endured a lot — I am very sorry she has breast cancer — I just don't get her level of anger.
Far as I'm concerned, whether it's Angelina Jolie or my best pal, the more women who talk about breast cancer, the better. I remember a time when women wouldn't even speak of it — as if it were some shameful secret — and in no way should any of us fall silent now.
It's in speaking out that we have sparked some of the greatest strides.
Respectfully, I'd also like to remind Olivia Barker that this isn't some kind of competition, that my breast cancer is worse than yours. As women, we're all in this together — and what benefits one, benefits us all.
Email Susan: [email protected]
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May 17, 2013 12:00 AM
When I was a teenager, I babysat for a sweet little blond girl who lived in my neighborhood. She grew up to be a lovely young woman who became a nurse, married and had three children of her own.
She was in her late 20s when she was first diagnosed with breast cancer. By the age of 37, she was dead.
I also know several women who were barely in their teens when their mothers died — far too soon — of breast cancer. Years later, the pain of their early loss lingers and so does their fear that they might some day have to deal with the same terrible disease.
As for me, I was in high school when my Mom told me that she had "found a lump." She tried to ease my concerns but I could tell she was worried, too.
In the end, she didn't have cancer, but I've never forgotten the stress of that awful week as she awaited the test results.
Every time I go for my annual mammogram, I mentally hold my breath until I get the all-clear ...
While I know the statistics — that heart disease kills more women than breast cancer — for us females, that doesn't make the latter any less fearsome. Still, I'm grateful that I live in a time when the options for women with breast cancer go beyond disfiguring surgery and the prognosis, less and less often, is a death sentence.
That's why it puzzles me that a columnist named Olivia Barker, writing earlier this week in USA Today, harshly took actress Angelina Jolie to task for going public with her decision to have a prophylactic double mastectomy. Jolie, 37, in an op-ed piece in the New York Times, revealed she has the BRCA1 gene, a mutation which studies have shown greatly increases the risk of breast cancer.
In Jolie's case, that means an 87 percent chance of getting it. The mother of six young kids, she didn't like the odds so she did something about it. Who's to argue with that?
Barker, who it turns out is herself battling breast cancer, conceded that Jolie was smart to have the surgery. But that's about all she gives her.
She criticizes her for publicly talking about it and seems especially upset that some have called Jolie "heroic" for going through what she has gone through.
Barker obviously doesn't buy that. In fact, she writes that Jolie is "broadcasting a surgery that's more headache than hardship."
While Barker has obviously endured a lot — I am very sorry she has breast cancer — I just don't get her level of anger.
Far as I'm concerned, whether it's Angelina Jolie or my best pal, the more women who talk about breast cancer, the better. I remember a time when women wouldn't even speak of it — as if it were some shameful secret — and in no way should any of us fall silent now.
It's in speaking out that we have sparked some of the greatest strides.
Respectfully, I'd also like to remind Olivia Barker that this isn't some kind of competition, that my breast cancer is worse than yours. As women, we're all in this together — and what benefits one, benefits us all.
Email Susan: [email protected]
We reserve the right to remove any content at any time from this Community, including without limitation if it violates the Community Rules. We ask that you report content that you in good faith believe violates the above rules by clicking the Flag link next to the offending comment or fill out this form. New comments are only accepted for two weeks from the date of publication.
Not sure how to add your comment? Here's how