THE POWER OF INFORMED DECISION

Hi. It's Dr. Kathy Miller from Indiana University, coming to you on May 14 to make certain that you did not miss the day's biggest news. I'm not referring to the IRS scandal or whether Congress will hold hearings about what really happened in Benghazi.
I want to make sure you saw the New York Times report by Angelina Jolie^[1] herself, disclosing that she inherited a deleterious mutation of BRCA1 and thus has an increased risk for breast and ovary cancer. She made the choice in February to undergo bilateral prophylactic mastectomy.

Now, make no mistake here: This is a report in the New York Times only because it is Angelina Jolie. Her genetic inheritance, the risks that it brings, and the choices that she faced -- increased surveillance, prevention, lifestyle changes that might decrease her risk, or prophylactic surgery -- were not at all different from the choices that all of our patients with BRCA abnormalities face. And her choice is her choice. It is the right choice for her, and we wish her well and good recovery and good health. But it doesn't inform the choices that our other patients should make.
It does remind us to identify patients with family histories of diagnoses at young ages and suggestive pathology to make certain that those patients are offered testing and the ability to have that genetic information if they choose. That genetic information is not what is frightening to patients; it is the unknown and the risk that is frightening. With information comes the power to make informed decisions and to envision a very different future for themselves than what they may have seen in their mothers, sisters, or other female relatives.
For bringing this information to light, we owe Angelina Jolie a great thank you. We wish her well and good recovery and good health. I'll be back again soon to talk to you about ASCO.