[shifuimam]

I'm surprised nobody's posted yet about her double mastectomy.

[ghporter]

Still trying to get my head around the story. It was an extremely important decision for her to make, and she went through an extensive amount of surgery "just in case." On the other hand, her medical advice seems to have been pretty definitive; they told her she had a greater than 85% chance of developing breast cancer...and her mother died from breast cancer.

Aside from the physical costs (surgery is hard on anyone), she must have gone through a lot of introspection to decide to go through with a preventive double mastectomy, knowing both that it would be very painful and potentially out her in the wrong light in the eyes of the public. I'm going to officially put myself in the "she was brave" camp on this one.

[shifuimam]

Oh, definitely. I think all-around she is a pretty amazing person. She has used her fame and money to do a lot of good in the world, and I have a ton of respect for that.

Her decision to do this will probably have a major impact on other women facing the same difficult situation, too.

[Spheric Harlot]

Indeed. She's put the topic in prime time major AND tabloid news over here. As I type this, there's another related topic on the radio (genetic testing).

Incredibly brave to make this decision so publicly, but a sacrifice made for the sake of publicity for the fight against breast cancer, and the plight of women who face this decision.

Nothing but respect from me.

[Shaddim]

She's crazy, but not in a bad way. One of the few people who is admired by almost everyone.

86% chance? I've made 8-digit deals with worse odds, it's the right call. Very brave of her.

[olePigeon]

My mom did the same thing, including chemo and radiation. My uncle, grandmother, grandfather, and great grandfather all died from cancer. It's something for which our family has to really keep an eye out.

[andi*pandi]

While I personally am more scared of surgery than breast cancer, I think it's a smart choice for her.

(other types of cancers run in my family... in places you can't do without.)

[Thorzdad]

My wife and I discussed it. She knows another woman at her church who opted to do it, too.

[Doc HM]

Interesting to see where her career goes now. I would imagine that the default (dumb) hollywood reaction would be to not cast her in anything any more but her fame and box office clout is such that she's almost daring them into doing the right thing. I can't imagine how the operation would affect anything she did role wise but hollywood is full of lowest common denominator idiots so this can only be a good thing in the pursuit of sensibleness in casting.

[Chongo]

No Kermit Gosnell thread?

[andi*pandi]

Originally Posted by Doc HM 

Interesting to see where her career goes now. I would imagine that the default (dumb) hollywood reaction would be to not cast her in anything any more

I haven't read all the stories, but I'd assume that she'd get implants of the same size as her natural size. Anything bigger and she'd get slammed for being superficial.

Then again, if she's going for no implants, that's quite the statement... but no worse off than Kiera Knightly, right?

[olePigeon]

Originally Posted by andi*pandi 

Then again, if she's going for no implants, that's quite the statement... but no worse off than Kiera Knightly, right?

I'm assuming Angelina Jolie takes a shower every now and then, so, no, no worse than Kiera "Stinky" Knightly.

[Spheric Harlot]

Maybe she got these:

[abbaZaba]

Originally Posted by Doc HM 

I can't imagine how the operation would affect anything she did role wise but hollywood is full of lowest common denominator idiots so this can only be a good thing in the pursuit of sensibleness in casting.

Tomb Raider?

[Chongo]

Jolie is not the first woman to have the surgery.

From Jan 2013

Miss D.C. Allyn Rose, 24, who is competing Saturday for the title of Miss America, is removing both breasts after the contest as a preventive measure to reduce her chances of developing the disease that killed her mother, grandmother and great aunt.

Read more: Miss America contestant plans to undergo preemptive double mastectomy - NY Daily News

[shifuimam]

Originally Posted by Chongo 

Jolie is not the first woman to have the surgery.

From Jan 2013

Of course she isn't - but she's arguably the most famous woman in current popular culture who's had this procedure done.

It would be an extremely difficult decision for any woman to make. I'm not feminine by any stretch but I can't say I'm too appealed by the thought of having my ladies chopped off. For someone that many women find beautiful and impressive (in character as well as physical appearance), I can see how it would be very encouraging to other women that she's had this done.

[P]

Originally Posted by andi*pandi 

I haven't read all the stories, but I'd assume that she'd get implants of the same size as her natural size. Anything bigger and she'd get slammed for being superficial.

Then again, if she's going for no implants, that's quite the statement... but no worse off than Kiera Knightly, right?

Haven't read anything more than the initial piece on nytimes.com, but she mentions some form of temporary implants first and then final implants. No word on the size - I get the impressions that that wasn't the important part. If her purpose in publishing this is to encourage other women in her situation to take the same step, it makes sense to try to get as close as possible to her old size.

[ghporter]

From reading her Op-Ed piece that ran in a lot of papers, it appears that she has implants, and probably saline implants, which are the safest and most durable kind out there.

I highly doubt that she would go for a different size, but it's important to know that cup size is a very abstract value, encompassing any number of variations in shape, profile and general configuration. Frankly, calling some random woman's breasts "B cup" is sort of like saying they're "medium." There is essentially little precision in the definition of any cup size. Further, US cup sizing is not anywhere near the same as British sizing, and neither is the same as European sizing. (Given the fact that gross sizes like "large" and "medium" in tee shirts is codified as different for Northern Europe and Southern Europe, I wonder if there is such a distinction for European bras...) In other words, it's not likely she will look exactly the same, but she should look great.

All implants are shaped to some idealized form, with different makers' various styles supposedly replicating all manner of different breast shapes, and while restorative implants are very different from "augmentative" implants, they are still idealized. There are, in fact, a larger variety of restorative implants because of the extreme variability of need among mastectomy patients.

On the other hand, natural breasts are typically quite different left to right on the same woman, and no woman's breasts are naturally anything more than "very similar" in shape and size. The surgeon typically helps the woman select an implant that she feels is most like her desired shape. The best reconstructive surgeons are able to assist not just with what sizes are available, but how the breast will look after reconstruction. It is hardly something that anyone wants to have to have reworked, so it's important to get this right. I hope that, after all is said and done, she can appear in her chic and dramatic outfits on the red carpet and have at least as many people commenting (whether it's "wow!" or "B****!," it doesn't matter) about how she looks.

[shifuimam]

Glenn, I am thoroughly impressed by your in-depth knowledge of both bra and breast sizes. I've been buying bras for years and don't know the minutiae like that. A+

[andi*pandi]

Thanks for the link Glenn. Sounds like she is very level about this.

[ghporter]

Originally Posted by shifuimam 

Glenn, I am thoroughly impressed by your in-depth knowledge of both bra and breast sizes. I've been buying bras for years and don't know the minutiae like that. A+

It is both a professional interest and, shall we say, an 'avocation.'

I am an occupational therapist, so I both appreciate the female form and have the opportunity to provide therapeutic interventions to women who have undergone mastectomy procedures, whose bra choices have damaged their shoulders (straps are not all created equal), among other things. Providing the right type of assistance requires substantial education and research.

I am also a flaming heterosexual, and I've been very interested in the female form since I was about 10, so I've done a lot of other kinds of research, too.