Archive for the 'Cancer' Category

There's no question that Angelina Jolie showed TONS of courage when she announced her decision to have preventative, and the more we look at her family's history with cancer the more it makes sense that she would take such extreme measures.

The actress knew for two reasons that she was at a high risk of being diagnosed with cancer. The first was she had a BRCA1 gene mutation, which greatly increases the chances of getting the disease. The second reason was that it runs in her family.

One of the best parts of being a football star probably has nothing to do with actually playing the sport — it's probably inspiring fans, especially youngsters who want to grow up to be like you!

That's definitely the deal with Texans star J.J. Watt, who surprised one of his fans after he learned the young cancer patient had named the robot he uses for school after him!

Such a heartwarming story! You gotta watch it for yourself (above)!

The surprise is SO adorable!

Even though we can't even begin to comprehend how difficult Angelina Jolie's courageous decision to undergo a double mastectomy must have been for the incredible, inspirational actress, it's clear that she made the choice knowing just how devastating the toll can be for those with the defective gene that is linked to both breast and ovarian cancer!

And not just because she lost her mother, Marcheline Bertrand, to the same disease!

Sadly, it appears that Angie's Aunt Debbie, her mom's sister, is now battling stage four breast cancer, even though she elected to have her ovaries removed after taking a test that showed she also carried the faulty BRCA1 gene.

Watch her bravery and perseverance, covered in a story for Inside Edition (above)!

So unreal to think that this disease has ravaged an entire family for so many generations, but hopefully, by coming forward and discussing their struggles so openly, women like Angie and her Aunt Debbie can break the cycle and raise awareness so others in similar situations have the information and resources necessary to make potentially life-saving decisions regarding their health.

Stay strong, you guys! You're in our prayers!

Before you get weirded out by Natalie Portman's dad commenting on a celebrities drastic choice about her boobs, we should clarify that Natalie Portman's dad is a doctor — and besides, it wasn't just a choice about boobs, it was a choice about health and living a long life!

Dr. Avner Hershlag is the chief of the Center for Human Reproduction at North Shore LIJ and also Natalie Portman's dad. He's spoken out about having the utmost respect for Angelina while sharing his own medical insight. Here's what he had to say:

Angelina Jolie has been the center of attention the last couple of days for raising awareness for women's health issues when she announced she was having preventative surgeries!

But some people are still a little unclear about all of the medical jargon that has come along with the news, so here are some important facts to help clear up any lingering confusion:

What is a BRCA1 gene?

Talk about the understatement of the century!!

We can all pretty much agree that Angelina Jolie is extremely brave for sharing the news of her double mastectomy with the world. But Zoe Saldana took it one step further when she said she thinks she's "the ultimate badass!"

We couldn't agree more!

The lovely actress was walking the red carpet at the Hollywood premiere of her upcoming film Star Trek Into Darkness when she said Angelina's announcement is very important and inspiring for women who could be facing the same risks!

Things have been a LOT better between Angelina Jolie and her father Jon Voight since they had a major falling out in the early 2000's, but apparently there are still a few minor communication issues to work out!

Jon says he had NO clue that his daughter was planning on having a double mastectomy to lower her risk of cancer! In fact, he had to find out about it the same way we all did: Through the internet!

Angie and her dad saw each other just two days before she went under the knife, but he says the subject never came up for some strange reason: