Beauty & Mastectomy

To you, she may appear confident as she walks through the grocery store or makes her family dinner every evening. She may smile and laugh with her girlfriends, perhaps even accompany them to Pilates. But do you know she is carrying a burden? Do you know that she may or may not be diagnosed with breast cancer?
The statistics are staggering. According to the American Cancer Society, the chance of a woman having invasive breast cancer sometime in her life is 1 in 8. The chance of dying from breast cancer is 1 in 36. Alarmingly, 232,340 cases of invasive breast cancer will be diagnosed this year alone. While again, she may appear to be brave, to be able to presume her responsibilities of being a mother, a daughter, a sister, a best friend, or even your favorite actress on the big screen, the physical and psychological effects of breast cancer remain.

Recently, Angelina Jolie, most notably recognized for her work as an actress, published an article in the New York Times highlighting her decision to get a preventative double mastectomy. Her doctors estimated that the actress had a 87 percent risk of developing breast cancer and a 50% chance of developing ovarian cancer. Upon discovering this reality, the proactive actress underwent three months of procedures, staring with a procedure known as "nipple delay". This particular procedure, she writes "rules out disease in the breast ducts behind the nipple and draws extra blood flow to the area." Two weeks later Jolie had the major surgery where the breast tissue was removed and temporary fillers were put into place. Nine weeks later, Jolie completed the final surgery with the reconstruction of the breasts with an implant. Amazingly, she concluded that the reconstructive aspect of the surgery did not make her feel any less of a woman. "I feel empowered that I made a strong choice that in no way diminishes my femininity."

While Jolie's confidence and bravery is most certainly something to be admired, not all women walk away form the procedure with such confidence. In fact, many women walk away from the procedure feeling unfeminine and have a difficult time accepting their new bodies. Many years ago my mother experienced this first hand. "Will I ever be beautiful again," was all my mother's best friend managed to whisper as stood naked. The mastectomy, in her opinion, had robbed her of identity; the curves that made her beautifully feminine. Silently, my mother wept for her best friend; a woman who had once tackled life so vivaciously. Her beauty, from what I recall from old photographs, was astounding regardless if she had breasts or not. 

Angelina, in my opinion is truly an inspiration to women. Although she is undoubtedly a symbol of modern femininity, she found the courage to get the surgery. For the most part, women are bombarded by images of sexuality and beauty. We are programmed to believe that we should emulate the models and the celebrities in  our favorite fashion magazines. Sometimes we even feel like we can't compete. It is undeniably refreshing to see such a symbol of beauty describing her experience without the pink ribbons, the 5K races, or the "Save The TaTas t-shirts. 

She was real. She described one part of her surgery as a "scene from a science fiction movie." 

She didn't mask the side effects. 

She had bruises. She has scars. But she is still a woman.