Her medical choice


What she said went viral and evoked spontaneous responses because she was no other than Angelina Jolie! Who’s who, being in the limelight, is a subject of scrutiny. I beg to differ a little in this case. To me, though she is ‘the’ Angelina Jolie, ‘what’ is more important than ‘who’.  Her decision to undergo a double mastectomy (removing both breasts) to reduce the risk of breast cancer is certainly courageous as a woman and indeed inspiring as an Oscar winning actor.
More than undergoing a surgery, her conviction to go public about it through New York Times ‘Co-Oped’ page is praiseworthy. She could very much keep it a very personal thing and there couldn’t have been any debate. Yet she consciously decided to announce it. Her mother being a victim of cancer and Joile herself at high risk, she has seen the dreaded world of cancer from close quarters. That could be the reason perhaps, she wore her heart on her sleeves.
To quote her, “I have been able to keep this private and to carry on with my work. But I am writing about it now because I hope that other women can benefit from my experience. Cancer is still a word that strikes fear into people’s hearts, producing a deep sense of powerlessness. But today it is possible to find out through a blood test whether you are highly susceptible to breast and ovarian cancer, and then take action.”
Breast cancer is one of the biggest killers in the poor countries and in the Asian sub-continent. Especially in India, there is hardly any awareness. Ignorance cannot be always bliss, not at least in health matters. In spite of alarm bells ringing, not many women are aware or particular about regular health-check-ups. Many of them ignore even signals and pull on without medical help. Lesser said the better about poor-healthcare facilities in India. Nevertheless it’s not the topic here. Jolie’s decision will not only spread the awareness but more importantly, also save a number of lives by mentally strengthening women to take adequate preventive measures, if need be.
Jolie has also appreciated her partner Brad Pitt who was a pillar of strength and supported her all through. She has also appealed to all men who have wives and girlfriends that partners are very important part of such transition. Relentless support from a life-partner would help a woman stand strongly by her decision.  Not just husbands or live-in partners, all men in a woman’s life could play a positive role in very ‘womanly’ health concerns.
An aside, not just men but women also think breasts are an integral part of womanhood. Jolie’s candid confession of ‘not feeling any less of a woman’ should help them get over this notion. After all, beyond your strength, there can be nothing more important to make you feel more or less of a woman or a man.
-KanChan
             

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Image
  Living Alternatively: A Blog Series with Those Exploring a Different Way of Life Caught in the midst of meeting professional deadlines, family and social commitments, and securing our future emotionally and financially, most of us seem to have embraced stress and the rising insecurities of modern-day life as the new normal. However, we try to walk that thin line; balance eludes most of us as life slips through our hands. While catastrophes like limited resources, climate change, conflicts, and the sword of war hanging between countries can strike us unheralded, a minimalist life or an alternative way of living seems like a myth. This new blog series seeks to interact with those who have been 'leading a different way of life.' Natural Rhythm of Life: Chitra Nandan Let's start with Chitra Nandan, a humble, unassuming person who loves to explore places, nature, and people. Self-proclaimed friend of nature, we would often mistake her simplicity and introvertedness fo...
Read more

Old Monk in New Bottle

Image
And the mystical monk landed on the shores of the Wiseland, which he had left four decades ago in the pursuit ‘Enlightenment’   A sea of people had come to receive him… what if ‘atheist’ government had issued orders to ban monasteries and forced many ‘monks’ like him to return to their motherland… This mystical monk was sure of the ‘grand reception’ in the Wiseland, his motherland… He had hoisted his sails when the wind was just right… The monk had harbored the thoughts of offering sermons and discourses to the men of Wiseland as he guessed they would be in the need of ‘Wise words from the mystical man’ He had prepared to talk about Life, God, Spirituality, Relationships, Meditation, Laws, Beauty and Death ‘Wait, hear us out before you speak, said the First Citizen of the Wiseland ‘We have heard a lot of discourses. We know Sermon on the Mountain. We have heard of Vedas and yes, also read the ‘Prophet’ by The Kahlil Gibran’…. ‘We are a civilized country. We are li...
Read more

In good faith

It’s no child’s play to keep a tradition going and if one breaks, it comes as a rude shock. Dramatic closure of Britain ’s 168-year-old tabloid, News of the World, has stunned the world. It hurts even more knowing the reason. Facing allegations of illegal phone hacking of a murdered girl, rape victims, families of dead soldiers, politicians and celebs, the revered British tabloid will print its last edition on Sunday, July 10, free of advertisements, focusing maximum on content. Media baron and owner Rupert Murdoch maintains that given the enormity of scandals and owing to mounting public pressure, closure is the only way out… How does it look? Is it just another incident? I cannot look at it that way. No, not only because it’s concerned to my fraternity. When I look at it from humanitarian point of view, I can see that the entire chain of events has wider, deeper and vaster implications. A lot is happening behind the curtains and when I say this, I am not limiting myself to the incide...
Read more