Angelina Jolie and Breast Cancer Prevention

By now you've probably heard about actress Angelina Jolie's prophylactic double mastectomy. She wrote about it in an op-ed for the New York Times. Because of her ability to get genetic testing, Jolie found out that she's a carrier of the BRCA1 gene, one that increases a woman's chance for getting breast cancer. To reduce her risk, she opted for a controversial double mastectomy and reconstructive surgery. This choice has sparked a debate in pop culture and in healthcare.

Here are a few of the issues and some corresponding articles about them from the Libraries' HealthSource database:

Source: http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2013/05/15/
science/earth/15jolie_cnd/15jolie_cnd-articleInline.jpg

• Should women have preventive mastectomies?
  This 2011 article from European Journal of Cancer Care reports high satisfaction in patients.
• Does Angelina Jolie's financial situation put her at an unfair advantage?
  An article from the Journal of Health Politics, Policy & Law explores the ethics of the affordability of health insurance.
• What are the implications of knowing your genetic code?
  A 2006 article from the Journal of Nursing Scholarship explores the ethics of genetic testing.

What do you think?