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breast cancer
New reports reveal that Angelina Jolie is now planning to have her ovaries removed, following a double mastectomy after discovering she’s a carrier of the BRCA1 gene.
Angelina Jolie, 37, made the brave decision to have three months of secret procedures after being told she had an 87% chance of contracting breast cancer.
Now, the actress is said to already be planning her next surgery – the removal of both her ovaries – as the gene means she has a 50% chance of developing ovarian cancer.
According to People magazine, Angelina Jolie is likely to have the next procedures before she turns 40, as doctors recommend having the surgery done after child-bearing age.
After the surgery, Angelina Jolie will no longer be able to have biological children, although she still has the option to adopt.
Angelina Jolie and her fiancé Brad Pitt currently have three biological children, Shiloh, 6, and 4-year-old twins Knox and Vivienne, and three adopted children, Maddox, 11, Pax, nine, Zahara, 8.
The View host Barbara Walters revealed on the show on Tuesday that she had both of her ovaries removed after her sister died from ovarian cancer.
Angelina Jolie is now planning to have her ovaries removed, following a double mastectomy after discovering she’s a carrier of the BRCA1 gene
Barbara Walters explained: “It’s not like having the breasts removed because people don’t see it. But it’s a decision you have to make – it’s preventative.”
Angelina Jolie’s decision to remove her ovaries will likely be fuelled by the fact that she lost her mother, Marcheline Bertrand, to ovarian cancer at the age of 56.
Marcheline Bertrand died in January 2007 after an 8-year battle with the disease.
Prior to her passing, Marcheline Bertrand founded a charity called Give Love Give Life which spread awareness of the condition.
Angelina Jolie’s mother and her colleagues at the charity also successfully campaigned for Johanna’s Law to fund education into gynecological illnesses and got it signed into statute in the US.
Angelina Jolie revealed her decision to have the double mastectomy by writing an op-ed in the New York Times on Tuesday.
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Jane Pitt has paid tribute to her soon to be daughter-in-law Angelina Jolie for her brave decision of having a preventive double mastectomy, even though there have long been rumors that relations between herself and Angelina are strained.
In a touching statement, Jane Pitt said she is “proud” of Angelina Jolie, 37, for having the surgery in order to ensure she is alive to watch her children grow up.
Angelina Jolie with her fiancé Brad Pitt and his mother Jane and father William at the Oscars in 2012
“We’re so very proud of Angie, this means so much to out family especially our grandchildren,” said Brad Pitt’s mother in a statement to People magazine.
“We love her dearly.”
Between early February and late April Angelina Jolie completed three months of surgical procedures to remove both breasts after being advised she was at a high risk of developing breast cancer.
Having watched her mother die at the age of 56 from ovarian cancer, ten years after developing the disease, Angelina Jolie was determined to ensure she had the best chance of avoiding the same fate.
Her brother James Haven also made a statement paying tribute to Angelina Jolie.
“My sister like our mother always put her children first,” he said.
“I am so grateful to be her brother.”
Jon Voight, Angelina Jolie’s father, revealed he learned about her preventive double mastectomy on the internet along with the rest of the world.
Jon Voight, 74, who reconciled with Angelina Jolie after a 10 year feud in 2011 praised his “extraordinary” daughter but was understandably surprised – especially as he had seen Angelina just one day before her announcement in the New York Times.
“My love and admiration for my daughter can’t be explained in words,” the actor told the New York Daily News.
“I saw her two days ago with my son Jamie. We all got together for his birthday, with her and Brad [Pitt]. But I didn’t know. It wasn’t obvious at all.
“I found out [Tuesday] morning. I was as surprised as anyone and deeply moved by the way she’s handled this. She’s a very extraordinary person, the way she examined it and what she shared.”
Angelina Jolie made the decision to have the surgery after learning she is a carrier of the BRCA1 gene and had an 87% chance of contracting breast cancer and a 50% risk of getting ovarian cancer.
She continued working throughout three months of procedures and kept them a secret from everyone other than her fiancé Brad Pitt, who was seen leaving a Hollywood studio on Tuesday, and their six children.
Jon Voight, Angelina Jolie’s father, revealed he learned about her preventive double mastectomy on the internet along with the rest of the world
Jon Voight says he “absolutely” respects Angelina Jolie’s choice to keep her decision from him for that time.
“I completely understand,” the actor explained.
“I want the focus to be on the inspiration.”
Jon Voight revealed he spoke to Angelina Jolie on Tuesday and she talked him through what it all means.
“She just explained to me and educated me on this stuff,” he said.
Jon Voight fell out with Angelina Jolie in 2002 when he accused her of having “serious mental problems”, while Angelina criticized him for having an affair behind her mother’s back.
It was Angelina Jolie’s fiancé Brad Pitt who eventually engineered their reconciliation and acted as a go-between.
Speaking in October 2011 Jon Voight claimed he’d had an emotional epiphany and that he began living for his family after everything changed “in a moment”.
“I suddenly saw things differently and everything shifted. That one moment changed my whole life,” he said.
“It gave me back my daughter and my family. Being reunited with my Angie is very precious to me. I adore my grandchildren, they are my great love. It makes me so emotional and grateful.”
Giuliana and Bill Rancic have revealed they are thinking about having another baby.
“We’d only be so lucky,” Giuliana Rancic told the Chicago Sun-Times Sunday magazine SPLASH when they asked her if she wanted to add another little one to her clan.
Giuliana and Bill Rancic’s son Edward Duke was born via gestational surrogate
Giuliana and Bill Rancic’s son Edward Duke was born via gestational surrogate seven months after Giuliana struggled with infertility and then discovered she had breast cancer which was stopped in its tracked by her undergoing a double mastectomy.
The next series of Giuliana & Bill will premiere in June, can expect to see “a ton of baby Duke,” she revealed.
Giuliana Rancic is relishing every precious moment of motherhood taking regularly to Twitter to share pictures of Edward Duke.
Anastacia has been forced to cancel her European tour as she was diagnosed with breast cancer for the second time.
Anastacia, 44, who previously beat the disease back in 2003, has been forced to cancel her European tour after receiving the tragic news.
Explaining her disappointment over the cancellation in a statement, Anastacia said: “I feel so awful to be letting down all my amazing fans who were looking forward to It’s A Man’s World Tour.
“It just breaks my heart to disappoint them.”
Anastacia’s tour had been scheduled to kick off in London on April 6th, but the singer has been instructed by her doctors to cancel all performances and not travel from now until further notice.
The singer will, however, continue with the recording and writing of her new album, and is hoping to at some point in the near future schedule in another tour.
The statement continued: “Now more then ever, she is determined to live by her motto “Don’t ever let cancer get the <<Best of You!>>.
“A born survivor, Anastacia has one goal and that is to make a full recovery with the support of her family, friends and everyone around her.”
Speaking previously about her successful battle against breast cancer, Anastacia blamed the stress of being a world-famous singer for her contracting the disease, as there was no history of breast cancer in her family.
Anastacia has been forced to cancel her European tour as she was diagnosed with breast cancer for the second time
In an interview in 2008, Anastacia said: “More and more women today are getting cancer which is not gene related. I’m sure it was stress which caused mine.
“The not-so-great relationship I was in and my career – it all became too much for me. I’m not really made for this business. I don’t really know how to be the star my record company always wanted me to be.
“None of it feels natural to me. I can relate to girls in this industry who have gone off the rails like Amy Winehouse and Britney Spears – I think I could only cope with it at all because I was a lot older than them.
“After the surprising success of the first album, I went straight into the second and it became a blur as I was working so hard. I had a herniated vocal chord and I got what I thought were panic attacks. The cancer came soon after.”
In addition to battling cancer, Anastacia also suffers from a heart condition called supraventricular tachycardia – in which the heart can have episodes of beating more than three times as fast as average – and has to take a daily pill to regulate it.
Anastacia also has Crohn’s Disease – an inflammatory bowel condition that causes a range of distressing symptoms such as diarrhoea, vomiting, fevers and severe cramps.
But speaking recently about her health struggles, Anastacia said that her illnesses have helped shape her into the woman she is today.
She said: “My illness has changed me in so many ways. It affects everything from my health to my job to my relationships. What is seen as a curse for some is a gift for me because it has helped me to discover who I really am.”
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Sharon Osbourne has revealed she has undergone a double mastectomy after learning she carries a gene which increases the risk of developing breast cancer.
“I’ve had cancer before and I didn’t want to live under that cloud: I decided to just take everything off,” Sharon Osbourne told Hello! magazine.
Sharon Osbourne, 60, was previously diagnosed with colon cancer in 2002.
The wife of rock star Ozzy Osbourne, she rose to fame on the reality show The Osbournes, and went on to join the judging panel of the UK version of The X Factor and, more recently, America’s Got Talent.
Sharon Osbourne quit the US show – produced by Simon Cowell – in September after a reported dispute with TV network NBC.
Sharon Osbourne has revealed she has undergone a double mastectomy
One of the current hosts of daytime show The Talk, she told Hello! magazine that she underwent 13 hours of surgery, and said: “The odds are not in my favor.”
“For me, it wasn’t a big decision, it was a no-brainer.”
“I didn’t want to live the rest of my life with that shadow hanging over me. I want to be around for a long time and be a grandmother to Pearl.
“I didn’t even think of my breasts in a nostalgic way, I just wanted to be able to live my life without that fear all the time.”
Earlier this year, Sharon Osbourne became a grandmother for the first time, after her son Jack and wife Lisa Stelly had a daughter, Pearl. Jack Osbourne, 26, was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis earlier this year.
In 2004, in conjunction with Los Angeles’ Cedars-Sinai Hospital, Sharon Osbourne set up her own cancer foundation, to support people who are suffering from colon cancer but cannot afford healthcare.
First Warning Systems unveils plans for a hi-tech device that can be worn inside the bra to help detect breast cancer.
One million women are diagnosed with breast cancer every year – and of those, 400,000 will die.
Catching the cancer early is crucial to survival rate – and the efficacy of traditional annual mammograms as a reliable detection method is being called into question, with tumors beginning to form up to six years before they can be detected using mammograms.
First Warning Systems believe their device will play be able to detect tumors early on and reduce the rate of false positives and negatives – thereby helping women seek treatment as soon as possible following a diagnosis.
The invention takes the form of a sensor that is placed inside the undergarment where it will measure any changes in cell temperature caused by the blood vessel growth associated with tumors as they develop.
Medcitynews.com reported that the sensor will also contain software that uses pattern recognition, chronology and artificial intelligence to look for changes in breast tissue that might indicate a tumor was present.
They report that the size of breast tumors and how far the cancer has spread are crucial elements in determining the prognosis of women diagnosed with breast cancer.
First Warning Systems believe their device will play be able to detect tumors early on and reduce the rate of false positives and negatives
Advancing technology – 3D mammography and thermography, for example – have gone some way in bringing early diagnoses to women. But these common methods are not infallible.
“Concerns with patient discomfort, exposure to radiation and false positives and negatives have spurred the creation of numerous other screening methods,” they said.
They report that a number of medical organizations are in the process of developing new methods of cancer detection.
Philadelphia firm UE Lifesciences is testing sensors for a handheld device intended as an alternative to mammograms.
Another, Ascendant Diagnostics, has had success in testing protein levels in tears as a way of detecting cancer early, while Delphinus Medical Technologies is in the process of developing an ultrasonic breast cancer detection device.
The launch of the bra is reported to be planned for 2013.
First Warning Systems smart bra:
• Monitors change in cell temperature caused by blood vessel growth associated with developing tumors
• Pattern recognition software looks for changes in breast tissue that might indicate a tumor was present
• Bra set for release in 2013
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Women who take hormone replacement therapy (HRT) may cut their risk of heart problems, a study suggests, but experts are still cautious about long-term safety risks.
Published in the journal BMJ, the study also found HRT is not associated with an increased risk of cancer or stroke – but past studies have shown a link.
The Department of Health advises women to only use it on a short-term basis.
The researchers traced 1,000 women over 10 years – half of them were on HRT.
Talking about their findings, the paper’s authors said: “HRT had significantly reduced risk of mortality, heart failure, or heart attack, without any apparent increase of cancer, deep vein thrombosis or stroke.”
However, they stressed that “due to the potential time lag, longer time may be necessary to take more definite conclusions”.
Safety concerns about the long-term use of the therapy has been debated by academics over the past decade.
The women in the study were aged between 45-58 years old and recently menopausal – those on treatment started it soon after menopausal symptoms began.
HRT replaces female hormones that are no longer produced during the menopause and can help with hot flushes, insomnia, headaches and irritability.
After 10 years, 33 women in the group that had not taken HRT had died or suffered from heart failure or a heart attack, compared with just 16 women who were taking the treatment.
Thirty-six women in the HRT group were treated for cancer compared to 39 who had not taken HRT – of which 17 cases were breast cancer compared to 10 in the HRT group.
They also found that after stopping the therapy, the women continued to see health benefits for six years.
The American Society for Reproductive Medicine said: “This is a very significant piece of research and should reassure the millions of women who turn to hormone therapy for relief of their menopausal symptoms.
“Although the study was not large, the long-term follow-up of 16 years is reassuring as there was no increase in adverse events including cancer.
“This should not be considered the last word on the effects of hormone therapy. More research is needed.”
A series of previous studies has linked HRT with a higher risk of breast cancer and heart attack.
A large study which initiated the discussion and looked at a million women, suggested taking it for several years doubled a women’s risk of developing breast cancer.
Weighing up the evidence from numerous past studies, some experts warn that this new BMJ study does not mean that HRT can now be considered safe.
Giuliana Rancic has opened up about her blissful life with her baby boy Edward Duke.
Giuliana and Bill Rancic welcomed their first child, Edward Duke Rancic, into the world via gestational surrogate on August 29 in Denver, Colorado.
The 37-year-old discussed the joys of motherhood on the Today show this morning and also shared a snap of the three-week-old child.
“I look at that picture ten times a day and I still coo!” she gushed as the sweet photograph flashed up screen.
“He’s just adorable. He’s so cute!”
“We just stare at him all the time,” she continued.
“He’s got big eyes and he’ll just stare at you for ten minutes at a time. It’s just unbelievable.”
Giuliana Rancic has opened up about her blissful life with her baby boy Edward Duke
Giuliana Rancic said that rather than dreading night time feeds, she and Bill fight over who will wake up to give him his bottle.
“I love spending every second I can with him,” she said.
She also spoke about her surrogate, Delphine, whom she describes as a “wonderful person”.
“She gave us the greatest gift in the world,” she said, adding that the couple were present in the delivery room when their child was born.
“When the baby came into the world, we just started hysterically crying tears of joy,” she explained.
Giuliana Rancic admitted she was again in tears last night when she left her son with her husband in Chicago for the first time to fly to New York.
But it was for a good cause – she was on the show to promote Do It For The Girls Day, which encourages women to give themselves a breast examinations.
During Giuliana Rancic’s third attempt to get pregnant through IVF her doctor discovered she had breast cancer. But she is now cancer-free following a double mastectomy and is keen to encourage early detection in others.
She said the past 12 months have been full of mixed emotions: “It was the best year of my life, because of the baby and the worst year of my life because of my cancer.”
“It just goes to show that if you’re strong and positive, great things can come out of the darkest time of your life.”
Giuliana and Bill Rancic – who tied the knot in September 2007 – struggled to conceive for four years before deciding to turn to a surrogate.
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