Remember how I asked you all your opinions on the preventative mastectomy Angelina Jolie had, and future removal of her ovaries she plans to have? Well, your comments and emails were awesome, and the discussions continued between Phil and I until he finally emailed Fr. Tad who awesomely responded with a link to an article he had written two years ago. Here's that article.
What do you think now?
I think the point is that someone who finds out they have the "cancer gene", has some family history of cancer, and truly feels this is the best medical path to take is completely within their rights (in the moral sense) to remove those organs that are most likely to be attacked by cancer.
As someone who does not yet know if I have the cancer gene, I don't know for certain what I would do. But, I *think* I would lean towards the preventative mastectomy and try to wait until my childbearing years were over to have my ovaries removed (with frequent screenings up until that point). I would take into account my family history and listen to the medical advice of trusted doctors, discuss with my spouse, pray and get spiritual guidance, and then make my decision.
None of this discussion has anything to do with Angelina Jolie personally, except that her famous name has opened the door for me to even think about the topic. I am sure she is doing exactly what she feels is best for her and her family, and I commend her for doing so publicly and trying to increase awareness. But I'm still Team Jen.
Oh, is that not a thing anymore? We've all moved on? Awkward....
For some reason I can't open the Fr. Tad article but thanks for hashing it out with Phil so that I can share this with Bill and move on. HAHA
ReplyDeleteTEAM JEN FOREVER!!!!! It will always be a thing, and our grandkids will be so darn confused.
ReplyDeleteTotally agree with the rest of your thoughts.
total side note: the ad on the side of the article you linked to is my alma mater..Oakcrest!
ReplyDeleteTeam Jen. all the way.
ReplyDeleteHA! I a forever TEAM ANNISTON! We can be awkward together.
ReplyDeleteAnd I'll be doubly awkward since I just spelled her name wrong! :)
ReplyDeleteLOL....I'm still 'team Jen' too. Yes, it's still a thing. :)
ReplyDeleteI think it's awesome that she has shared this publicly though; because that gene, well it's a 'thing' too!
A thoughtfully reasoned article! And one of the reasons I love being Catholic. There's no blanket, terse "yes, good" or "no, bad" answers. It is a religion that has the Truth on its side, and so knows that no amount of honest questioning and searching is going to harm it. It is a religion that honors the free will of each person, and so seeks to properly form the conscience of the faithful, rather than simply telling them what to believe.
ReplyDeleteAwesome!
Also, y'all are crazy. Team Jolie forever. FOREVAH!!!!!
Thanks for the link to the article, it was excellent!
ReplyDeleteAnd I'm with Cari - Team Jolie!
Yes, what Cari said!! Great reason to be Catholic, we have answers!!
ReplyDeleteAnd
Team Jolie all the way!!!!!!
Jen is pretty, but come on, she doesn't adopt any kids or anything. Of course Victor Kiriakis is her father....Hmmmm
The word prophylactic always makes me giggle and cringe. I guess it's the residual middle-schooler in me. Thanks for linking to the article. It was interesting. Personally, I don't think I would to anything prophylactic (heh heh) but I would go in for frequent screenings. IMHO all the parts of the body have more than one important purpose, so I wonder if there are negative side effects to mastectomies and removal of the ovaries.
ReplyDelete