Angelina Jolie Double Mastectomy

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Famous actress Angelina Jolie writes an article entitled “My Medical Choice” in the New York Times in May 2013. Jolie lost her mother on January 27, 2007. Her mother, age 56, died from breast cancer after fighting a long, hard battle. Jolie discusses in the article her experiences of how she handled her 87 percent chance of developing breast cancer. Jolie explains how women can be hopeful about the prevention of breast and ovarian cancer. Her strong use of pathos and logos helps to cover up the fact that she has little credibility on the topic of breast and ovarian cancer. Jolie writes this article because she had a double mastectomy in early 2013, after she found out she carried the BRCA1 gene. Women who carry this gene have a 65 percent…show more content…
She has watched her mother walk through breast cancer, she has researched breast cancer, and she has walked through the prevention of breast cancer. Jolie never attended college, or took any classes that would make her a credible writer on cancer. She can only go on her personal experiences. It does, however, sound as though Jolie has done her research on breast and ovarian cancer. She uses statistics from the World Health Organization and also from her doctors. She is not credible because she has a lot of medical experience, but because she has walked through it before. Jolie is an actress who has been recognized as the highest paid actor in Hollywood. Jolie has been recognized as one of the top 100 most beautiful women, and now, because she has had a double mastectomy, she is look upon by women who are going through the same thing as powerful and even more beautiful. She is known for staring in many movies including Maleficent, Salt, Wanted, and Mr. and Mrs. Smith. Because of Jolie’s successful acting career, she does have a large influence on many women and she is very open about what she has gone through. Jolie says, “I wanted to write this to tell other women that the decision to have a double mastectomy was not easy. But it is one I am very happy I made” (Jolie, 2013, para. 11). Women who are going through what Jolie went through can look at her as a role…show more content…
In her article, Jolie is speaking mainly to all the women who are fighting breast and ovarian cancer or those who have the faulty BRCA1 gene. Jolie’s call to write is to spread the word to other women that there are other options to fighting breast cancer and ovarian cancer. Jolie says, “I choose not to keep my story private because there are many women who do not know that they might be living under the shadow of cancer. It is my hope that they, too, will be able to get gene teste, and that if they have a high risk they, too, will know that they have strong options” (Jolie, 2013, para. 17). Jolie hopes that many people will be empowered by her story. She tells women to get tested for the gene. She explains how cancer produces “a deep sense of powerlessness” and it “strikes fear into people’s heart”. She explains how the results of breast reconstructive surgery can be “beautiful.” By says that she went from feeling very powerless to more confident from the results of the reconstructive surgery, she wants other women to know that they can do what she did and they don’t have to feel alone in what they are going through. Jolie expresses how this difficult decision of getting a double mastectomy has made her feel “empowered” and “strong” (Jolie, 2013). She gets her readers to feel like they actually have a choice and that they will be supported with whatever choice they make. She
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