Melissa Etheridge’s comments that Angelina Jolie’s preventive mastectomy was “fearful” have brought the singer-songwriter some bad press. Nevertheless, Etheridge stands by her words. In a statement made to ABC news, Etheridge stood by what she told the Washington Blade last week, adding that she wasn’t criticizing the actress’ choice but rather the way it has…
The debate over Angelina Jolie’s decision to have a double mastectomy in order to reduce her chances of breast cancer from a ‘Jewish gene’ mutation just got feisty. Singer-songwriter Melissa Etheridge, who is herself a breast cancer survivor, said Jolie’s decision was “fearful”, in an interview with the Washington Blade. Asked about Jolie’s decisions, Etheridge,…
Joanna Rudnick, a breast cancer survivor and BRCA-1 gene carrier, turned 39 today — and got one heck of a birthday present. The Supreme Court unanimously ruled that human genes cannot be patented, although it reiterated that synthetic or altered genes may be subject to patent law. In other words, human DNA cannot be patented…
In a first of its kind ruling on human genes, a unanimous U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday decided that synthetically produced genetic material can be patented but naturally occurring DNA extracted from the human body cannot. The nine justices handed a partial victory to Salt Lake City, Utah-based biotechnology company Myriad Genetics Inc , which…
Angelina Jolie made her first public appearance since announcing her double mastectomy on Sunday, joining fiance Brad Pitt on the red carpet in London where she welcomed the debate on women’s health that the surgery had sparked. The Oscar-winning actress has stayed out of the spotlight since announcing her operation in a New York Times…
Angelina Jolie’s aunt died of breast cancer Sunday, just two weeks after the Hollywood superstar revealed she’s had a double mastectomy to avoid the dreaded disease. Debbie Martin, 61, died Sunday in a San Diego-area hospital, her husband Ron Martin told The Associated Press. Martin had the same BRCA1 gene mutation that Jolie learned she…
Britain launched a research programme on Monday that should eventually allow all cancer patients to have access to the kind of genetic analysis that led Hollywood star Angelina Jolie to decide to undergo a double mastectomy. The project, involving the Institute of Cancer Research (ICR) in London, the U.S. gene sequencing firm Illumina , geneticists…
The “faulty gene” that Angelina Jolie credited with her decision to have a preventive double mastectomy is one of three genetic mutations known as “Ashkenazi Jewish mutations,” which are common among Jews of Eastern European descent and increase their carriers’ risk of developing breast cancer. Nevertheless, relatively few Israeli woman choose to undergo the same…
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