Last week Ms. Jolie told the world about her decision to have a double-mastectomy in order to help ensure she would not die from breast cancer. Her decision was brought about by the knowledge that she carries the BRCA1 gene, which greatly increases the odds that she would eventually develop breast cancer. Ms. Jolie’s mother possessed the same gene and died from ovarian cancer in her 50’s, which influenced Ms. Jolie to be tested and to pursue a radical treatment.
The question that was probably on everyone’s mind when the news broke is; “How will Brad react to this?” After all, Ms. Jolie is a strikingly beautiful woman who epitomizes sex appeal and glamour- and a double-mastectomy is definitely not viewed as a procedure that enhances a woman’s beauty and sexiness-but maybe it should be. After all, anyone who has lost a loved one or close friend to cancer knows just how cruel the disease is to one’s overall appearance, and level of energy and vitality. By taking steps to prevent it, Ms. Jolie and others help to ensure that they have many more years of good health, time with their loved ones and happy love. Now that’s a beautiful choice.
However, most of us know or can guess that women facing a similar decision usually struggle with the fear that their partner, or if they are not married, men who they may meet and want to date- would be less attracted or outright reject them due to their having had this surgery. Just the thought of it has probably contributed to some women avoiding the issue altogether by skipping the testing and hoping that if they ignore it, they won’t fall victim to it As a therapist, I have worked with woman who have gotten a diagnosis and along with the usual fear of what will happen to their body is the fear of how their spouse, significant other or single men they meet might will feel about it and about them in light of it.
Therefore Ms. Jolie’s decision to go public could have a very positive impact on women who may be at risk. As she moves through the recovery phase and back into her life, glamorous red carpet walks and all- women will redefine what sexy is, and realize that good physical and emotional health is a huge turn-on to men. It will also be up to men to look beneath the surface and really see the beautiful woman in front of them- inside and out.
