Savanah:

Well, something else that has a lot of people talking this morning, cancer survivor Melissa Etheridge’s take on Angelina Jolie’s decision to have a preventive double mastectomy. Etheridge is calling that quote “fearful” and this morning she is standing by those comments. NBC’s Kristen Dahlgren has more on that story. Kristen, Good morning.

Kristen:

Good morning, Savanah. At just this week Brad Pitt told me that Angelina was bold for her decision to undergo a double mastectomy but in an interview Melissa Etheridge said she doesn’t see it as brave.

Reporter:

Both Melissa Etheridge and Angelina Jolie have confronted cancer in public.

Jolie:

I feel great.

Reporter:

But Etheridge is now voicing a very public disagreement. In an interview with the Washington Blade, the cancer survivor said she wouldn’t call Jolie’s choice to have a preventive double mastectomy after testing positive for the BRCA1 gene “brave”.

Quote 1:

Actually, I think it’s the most fearful choice you can make when confronting anything with cancer.

Quote 2:

That choice is way down the line on the spectrum of what you can do.

Reporter:

Etheridge says she too tested positive for the gene mutation that increases the risk of breast cancer. She developed the disease and underwent chemotherapy. And in a statement to Today, Etheridge said, “I don’t have any opinion on what she ‘should have’ done—all are free to choose. I only objected to the term ‘brave’ describing it.” Jolie’s decision made headlines when she announced it last month.

Time dubbed it the “Angelina effect”. Experts say the resulting conversation and debate are no surprise.

Expert:

Cancer medicine is becoming increasingly personalized. It’s a very public debate between two women who are facing the risk themselves captures an incredible debate within the field itself.

Reporter:

In her New York Times OP-ED she wrote “I want to encourage every woman to seek out the information and medical experts who can help you through this aspect of your life, and to make your own informed choices.” Jolie has said she wants genetic testing accessible to all women.

While on the red carpet Monday night, Jolie’s partner Brad Pitt called Etheridge an old friend but didn’t back down on his praise for Jolie.

Pitt:

Damn right. She’s my hero.

Kristen:

Now Jolie had previously lost her mother with cancer. Her aunt Debbie lost her battle with breast cancer in late May.

Savanah:

All right, Kristen, thank you. Doctor Evelyn Minaya is a gynecologist, and an honorary chair of the Breast Cancer Awareness Board of Meridian Health in New Jersey. Doctor Minaya, good to see you.

Doctor Minaya:

Good to see you also.

Savanah:

Before we get into the details, is there any value to this conversation kind of disputing how one’s decision is characterized as either fearful or brave?

Doctor Minaya:

Absolutely not. You know what. It’s just like the basically epidural thing. Aren’t we all moms, whether you take an epidural for child birth or not? At the end of the day you’re still a mom. At the end of the day she’s still a breast cancer survivor, so ...

Savanah:

We don’t want to second guess anyone’s choices. I mean both women had the mutation of this gene, BRCA1 or BRCA2, which of course gives them a higher chance of having breast cancer. Angelina Jolie chose the double mastectomy. Melissa Etheridge got cancer and treated it successfully. Is one path superior to the other?

Doctor Minaya:

And the answer is no. But that’s what the wonderful thing about the medical technology is that you have all of these choices. The mastectomy, some people choose it because the other option is either to do the chemo and also to surveil you every six months with a mammogram and with an MRI. So some people feel they are very fearful over that. It’s like waiting for the other shoe to drop. So some people really choose the prophylactic.

Savanah:

And very quickly, do you worry that some people might be too quick to choose this double mastectomy in light of what Angelina Jolie did?

Doctor Minaya:

It’s a recommendation, Okay, so that, you know that’s why you have relationship with your physician. So, you can go over all your choices but ultimately you’re the one that does it.