by Kitty Clemens On May 14, Angelina Jolie let the world know she had been diagnosed with carrying the BRCA gene giving her possibly a higher chance of contracting breast and/or ovarian cancer. She made the brave decision that for her the best solution was to have both breasts removed to bring the breast cancer risk factor down and is also contemplating having her ovaries removed.
As a cancer coach I was very interested in reading this article and considering the agony that she and her partner must have gone through making that decision. I am not making light of that, but I am concerned that many people will see this as the choice or only decision.
There are a few things that I have not heard from Jolie or many others that should be part of the decision making and I would like to take this opportunity to bring awareness to the following.
Of all the people who end up with breast cancer, the percentage of breast cancer because of the BRCA1 or BRCA2 gene is only five to 10 per cent and research has shown that lifestyle and diet may have played a detrimental role. Most people contracting cancer do not carry a faulty gene, but may be affected by the environment they grew up in, their lifestyle, the kind of foods they are eating, ethnicity, toxins, the amount of stress they experience and other factors.
Jolie’s risk of breast cancer has been drastically brought down because of her surgery, but what about any of the other cancers? The risk for those has not changed with this surgery and stays the same unless she incorporates other changes in her life.
Actually, we all need to take stock, even if we don’t have the gene, for most cancers will have the following risk factors: poor diet; lack of physical activity, or being overweight; growing older; smoking; getting a sunburn; radiation; many chemicals and other environmental toxins; certain hormones; family history; alcohol and stress.
However, we can make changes. Though we cannot change our family history, our genes and the sunburns we have already experienced, we can: change our diet, start exercising and get to a healthy weight; stop smoking and drinking; avoid sunburns; avoid chemicals; bring down the amount of radiation (have fewer X-rays taken); avoid stress and support all that is good and beneficial.
My message is that if you have been diagnosed with the BRCA gene, don’t assume that surgery is your only option. Take some time and look at all your options.
Cancer can take decades to develop. While we are still fine, we need to take stock of what we are doing now and whether we can make any of the above-mentioned changes. Don’t wait for a diagnosis. Act now by incorporating a healthy diet and lifestyle. Surgery cannot be relied upon to prevent all cancers.
Kitty Clemens is a certified professional cancer coach and board certified in practical holistic nutrition.
