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Iowa women debate decision like Angelina Jolie

Iowa women debate decision like Angelina Jolie

Oscar-winning actress Angelina Jolie announced Tuesday that she has joined the growing number of women who've voluntarily had a double mastectomy.

Jolie wrote in Tuesday's New York Times that she decided to have the double mastectomy as a preventive measure, after discovering that she has a gene that gives her an 87 percent chance of getting breast cancer.  The chance of developing cancer after the surgery is less than 5 percent.


She wrote that her mother fought cancer for nearly a decade before dying at 56, and that she didn't want her own children to fear that they would lose her to breast cancer.

Two Iowa sisters have also made the tough decision for surgery.

Nicki and Mallory look alike and even sound alike, but besides these similarities the two share something else in common that isn't so obvious.

"I like having that my sisters and I are in the same boat together, but also it's very disheartening knowing that our percentage of all getting cancer was very high," said Nicki.

Nicki, Mallory and their youngest sister all tested positive for a gene mutation that makes them 87-percent more likely to develop breast cancer and 44-percent more likely to get ovarian cancer.

The sisters got tested because of their family history. Their mother and several aunts either had breast cancer or tested positive for the gene mutation.

"I am really glad that we all got tested. I definitely think you have to be ready for it. It's very big news," said Mallory.

But a positive test result doesn't mean a death sentence. Women who choose to get a double mastectomy and remove their ovaries can reduce their chances of those cancers to less than 5-percent.

"I have had patients that have had preventative surgery. I have had a patient that had ovarian cancer found during her preventative surgery that we could not see on scans," said Shawna Freeman, a nurse practitioner.

Nicki, who has one daughter, and Mallory who is expecting, have both decided they will have the preventative surgeries when they're done having children.

"There is no reason for us to have these body parts if they are only going to cause us harm in the future," said Mallory.

"I feel like this is what's best for my family. If this is what's going to keep me with my family and here and enjoying the blessings God has given me then that's what I'll do," said Nicki.