Did you hear about Angelina?

“Wake up!  Angelina Jolie had the same surgery as you!” is how I like start off all of my days.   I mean, we have so much in common so it was no surprise to me.  We both have brown hair.  We both have handsome husbands (I love you, Jason!).  She has a daughter named Shiloh and I have a dog named Shiloh.  We both speak English.  Oh yeah, and we both have the BRCA1 mutation and chose to have a mastectomy  to ensure that our children won’t lose their mommy to breast cancer!

Angelina Jolie wrote in the New York Times, “We often speak of Mommy’s mommy, and I find myself trying to explain the illness that took her away from us.”  Angelina’s mom died of ovarian cancer after a decade long battle with the disease.

Jason woke me up at 5am to tell me that Angelina Jolie underwent the same prophylactic double mastectomy as me during the same time frame (January-May for me and February-April for her – technically I was first).  I love being woken up early in the morning to hear about celebrity gossip.  I may have muttered something like, “That’s great.  Copycat.” and dozed back off to sleep only to be woken up several more times by facebook notifications (“Did you hear that Angelina Jolie had the same surgery as you??”) and my mother-in-law (“Put on the news!  Angelina Jolie had the same surgery as you!”).  All these interruptions while I was trying to sleep made for a grumpy morning.  I already hadn’t been sleeping well since my exchange surgery on May 7^th, but I was still very sore and achy and had to be at Dr. Campbell’s office by 9:45am.

I was being bombarded by Angelina’s mastectomy on every radio station on the way to my doctor’s office.  People debating whether they would remove their breasts if they had a high risk of breast cancer.  Most of the women said they would do the same thing as Angelina and commended her for being “so brave”.  Every radio station was talking about Angelina’s breasts, but all I wanted to listen to was a Bruno Mars or Fun. song!

After a quick stop at the new Wawa for an iced coffee, I arrived at Dr. Campbell’s office.  Unlike other doctor’s offices that are cold and unwelcoming that resemble the hospital in One Flew Over the Cuckcoo’s Nest, Dr. Campbell’s office is very comforting and relaxing.  Classical music plays in each room (I’m not really sure where it’s coming from, it’s like the music is just in the air!) while angels are all around you making you feel safe. Dr. Campbell greeted me with a hug and asked me how I was feeling, and then asked, “Did you hear about Angelina Jolie?”  I may have muttered something ackward like, “Oh yeah, now it’s cool to have a mastectomy!”

My visit with Dr. Campbell went well.  She said that everything is healing wonderfully since my exchange.  I gave her a few FORCE brochures and my cards to hand out in case any women want to reach out for support, and she released me from her care.  It was bittersweet.  Dr. Campbell played such a huge part in my decision to have a prophylactic mastectomy.  Without her warmth and compassion, I don’t know if I could have gotten through my surgery as optimistic as I was.

As I was leaving the office I received a voice message from Linda Hurtado of ABC Action News.  I had interviewed with her before my surgery, and ABC aired my story on April 1^st.  The voice message said, “Hey, Terri, it’s Linda Hurtado.  I’m sure you heard the news about Angelina Jolie…” and so began my whirlwind of a day.

Linda Hurtado is a breast cancer survivor who was diagnosed with breast cancer almost two years ago.  She had a double mastectomy and has spoken out about her journey many times on the air.  In January I decided to e-mail her to see if she would be interested in sharing my story.

Linda and her cameraman came over to my house around 11:30am to do a follow up interview.  We talked about how I am feeling since my exchange surgery, and of course Angelina Jolie. 

About ten minutes after Linda Hurtado left, I received a call from my genetic counselor at Moffitt.  I haven’t spoken to her since last May when I went in for genetic counseling.  She asked me if I would be interested in talking to a few news stations about my story with BRCA.  I thought it was kind of strange.  Am I the only previvor that Moffitt has on record in Tampa Bay?  I know for a fact that I’m not!  But I agreed to speak with other news stations if it will help spread awareness.  Two minutes after I hung up with my genetic counselor, Patty from Public Relations at Moffitt called me.  She wanted to meet me at Moffitt in an hour to set up the interviews.  Part of me wanted to say no because I was exhausted (I’m still recovering from surgery!), but I’m always saying how I want to help other women in my situation and didn’t want to miss this opportunity.

At Moffitt, I met with Fox news for an interview and Bay News 9.  As I was leaving I received an e-mail from Sue Friedman (founder of FORCE) asking me to speak with the Tampa Bay Times for an interview.  All these interviews, and I actually had to turn two down because I couldn’t make it to their interviews on time!  It felt really good and empowering to spread awareness of my BRCA mutation.  However, I was running here there and everywhere that I overworked myself.  I became very lightheaded and weak.  That is not good for someone who is only a week out of surgery.  I tried to relax when I got home, but I was just too excited!

I think the media did excellent jobs telling my story and mentioning FORCE.  Jason was so excited that he was mentioned in the same sentence as Brad Pitt!  “In the end, having a preventative mastectomy is a personal and family choice.  One Terri’s husband and Angelina Jolie’s husband supported.”

Before I learned of my BRCA 1 mutation last year I had never heard of having a preventative mastectomy.  At first the idea sounded drastic to me, but I soon realized that dying of breast cancer was more drastic.  I praise Angelina Jolie for coming forward and speaking of her journey.  Choosing to have a preventative mastectomy is a scary decision.  You may feel like you’re mutilating your body and wonder if you will feel less of a woman.  I can speak from experience that you are not mutilating your body, and I feel stronger as a woman who could make this life changing decision.  I hope that Angelina’s message will help inspire women who may be scared and feel alone in their journey, or who may think they are high risk for breast or ovarian cancer to speak with their doctors and know there are great resources out there to help them with their decision.

ABC News Interview:  http://www.abcactionnews.com/dpp/news/health/locals-react-to-angelina-jolies-decision-to-have-a-double-mastectomy-to-avoid-breast-cancer

Fox News Interview:  http://www.myfoxtampabay.com/story/22250193/2013/05/14/my-whole-world-came-crashing-down

Tampa Bay Times Interview:  http://www.tampabay.com/news/health/angelina-jolies-decision-draws-praise-from-tampa-bay-patients-physicians/2120976

Angelina Jolie's Op-ed:  http://www.nytimes.com/2013/05/14/opinion/my-medical-choice.html?_r=0