Angelina Jolie reveals she had preventive double mastectomy after discovering cancer gene

Published May 14, 2013

FoxNews.com

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  Actress Angelina Jolie arrives at the 68th annual Golden Globe Awards in Beverly Hills, California, January 16, 2011. REUTERS/Mario Anzuoni (UNITED STATES - Tags: ENTERTAINMENT) (GOLDENGLOBES-ARRIVALS) - RTXWNST

Angelina Jolie says she underwent a preventive double mastectomy earlier this year because she carries a gene that increases her risk of developing breast cancer and ovarian cancer.

In a New York Times article published late Monday, Jolie says she carries the "faulty" BRCA1 gene. She writes that the risk of developing cancer varies, but doctors estimated she had an 87 percent risk of breast cancer and a 50 percent risk of ovarian cancer. 

Jolie, whose mother died at age 56 after a long battle with cancer, says she decided to have the preventive mastectomy to be "proactive" for the sake of her six children with her partner, Brad Pitt.

"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," Jolie writes.

Jolie says she began the process on Feb. 2 and it took three months for her to fully recover. She says she is sharing her story to encourage other women who may not be informed about the procedure and their options.

"I wanted to write this to tell other women that the decision to have a mastectomy was not easy," she writes. "But it is one I am very happy that I made. My chances of developing breast cancer have dropped from 87 percent to under 5 percent. I can tell my children that they don’t need to fear they will lose me to breast cancer."

Click for more from the New York Times. 

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Stephen Hawking's double standard

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  Physicist Stephen Hawking is boycotting a conference in Israel because he disagrees with the nation's policies. (AP)

When I first read that the preeminent physicist, Stephen Hawking, had joined the boycott of Israeli academics, I thought to myself, “good for him.”

After all, it’s unsurprising that such an intellectual giant and general inspiration to mankind would be a man of great principle. 

If he believes a people are being mistreated, he will not sit idly and ignore the situation; he will bravely join the forces of the just to combat the unjust.

With the exception of his Israel boycott, I could not find any instances of Mr. Hawking boycotting or even speaking out against other nations in the Middle East.

At the same time, I became curious about what other boycotts Mr. Hawking is currently participating in. Now, I understand that although he is a scientist, he is by no means a political scientist, so I couldn’t expect him to be familiar with the suffering of every last group, tribe or clan in on the planet. 

But since Mr. Hawking does seem to keep current on events in the Middle East, I thought it would be fair to assume he had boycotted other countries in the region that are also guilty of bad behavior.

Surprisingly, with the exception of his Israel boycott, I could not find any instances of Mr. Hawking boycotting or even speaking out against other nations in the Middle East. 

This is quite curious when you consider how pervasive government sanctioned human rights violations are throughout this region.

But fine, Mr. Hawking has no responsibility to monitor the suffering of the entire Middle East; it’s really just the suffering of Palestinians that he’s concerned with. And it’s no secret that the current governing administrations in the Palestinian territories have an atrocious human rights record, with the persecution of gays, religious minorities and women among its leading offenses.

So I was even more surprised to find that not only hasn’t Mr. Hawking boycotted Palestinian academics, he actively consulted with them prior to deciding to joining the boycott of Israeli academics.

Ultimately, however, there is still no denying that Mr. Hawking is a principled man. If you happen to be a straight Palestinian male of the Muslim faith who openly supports his government, Mr. Hawking will always have your back.

Mendy Finkel is an attorney and frequent political commentator. 

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WH touts Obama budget, says Republicans want to 'double down' on rejected Romney plan

Published April 07, 2013

FoxNews.com

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  FILE: April 4, 2013: President Obama waves after his arrival at Buckley Air Force Base, Colo.AP

A senior White House adviser on Sunday defended President Obama’s forthcoming budget by saying it won’t be like the House Republican proposal – a rehash of the Romney plan that Americans have already rejected.

“The American people rejected it,” Obama adviser Dan Pfeiffer said on “Fox News Sunday.” “And (Republicans) shouldn’t be doubling down on it.”

The president is scheduled to release a budget Wednesday that is expected to include a mix of tax increases and cuts to such entitlements as Social Security and Medicare.

“You can do both,” Pfeiffer said. “That’s what you’ll see.”

Pfeiffer also told ABC’s “This Week” that Obama will not “enact a Romney economic plan,” which he said was essentially drastic cuts to entitlement programs with tax breaks for the wealthiest Americans.

“What we won’t do is cut our way to prosperity,” he said.

On Saturday, the president said his budget was not his “ideal plan,” but it was a compromise that he would be willing to accept.

House Speaker John Boehner said last week said the Obama budget blueprint holds reforms “hostage” to tax increases.

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