Mumbai girl does an Angelina Jolie, removes thy... - Thyroid UK

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Mumbai girl does an Angelina Jolie, removes thyroid

helvella profile image
helvellaAdministratorThyroid UK
8 Replies

Perhaps I shouldn't post this highly controversial story? I certainly wouldn't want to plant this idea in people's heads. But the more I think about it, the more I realise that the cat is out of the bag and not posting ends up as a form of censorship.

My own thoughts about the story are still confused. Intrigued that they seem to claim a genomic mapping referring to the RIGHT lobe only. Wish the scientific side of the article were as important as the costs and where you can have it done. (Definitely a case of cui bono - who benefits? - looks like an advertorial to me.)

Obviously comments are likely to vary - but please be careful of what you say and how you say it. Don't want this to end up as anything other than a polite discussion.

Mumbai girl does an Angelina Jolie, removes thyroid

Sunday, 5 October 2014 - 5:05am IST | Place: Mumbai | Agency: DNA

What Pooja Jhaveri (23) did might well be the future. When a genomic mapping of the banking professional's body showed that the right lobe of her thyroid could develop goitre or abnormal swelling in future, she went for a pre-emptive, partial removal of her thyroid.

Jhaveri says she was inspired by the story of Hollywood actress Angelina Jolie, who removed her breasts after genomic mapping showed that the celebrity was 87% risk-prone to breast cancer.

"The gene tests ascertained that the right lobe of my thyroid could develop goitre or abnormal swelling in future. As partial removal of thyroid is a zero-risk choice, I chose to pro-actively opt for it," she told dna.

dnaindia.com/mumbai/report-...

Please follow the link to the rest of the published story.

Rod

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Clutter profile image
Clutter

Rod, I think pre-emptive surgery to avoid high likelihood cancer risks is eminently sensible but hemilobectomy to pre-empt the risk of a swollen thyroid or goiter is madness.

Furthermore, hemilobectomy isn't zero risk. There is a small risk of damaging the vocal chords and of damage to the parathyroids. I think she was badly advised and, I agree, the article reads like an advertorial.

helvella profile image
helvellaAdministratorThyroid UK in reply to Clutter

Absolutely not zero risk! No surgery is. And the risk of becoming hypothyroid - with the consequences so many here know all too much about.

Fruitandnutcase profile image
Fruitandnutcase

Gosh! A bit drastic for me. OK she 'could' develop goitre or abnormal swelling in future. Unlikely to be fatal. Lots of things 'could' happen in the future, I could win the lottery.

I have a feeling Angelina Jolie had a strong family history of BRCA2 or whatever the gene is which is a completely different ball game which makes pre emptive breast surgery a very sensible idea.

Hopefully she won't end up hypothyroid and struggling to get her doctor to keep her adequately / optimally medicated. On the other hand there might be a lot more to her story that hasn't been said. I agree, badly advised, let's hope it doesn't catch on.

CarolineC57 profile image
CarolineC57

I too feel like this was a bad decision on her part. To remove a body part when there's a serious likelihood of cancer is one thing - I think I'd make that decision to do so too, just like Angelina Jolie. But when it's just a goitre or abnormal swelling that's likely, I think that's too drastic an action to take. This seems to me to be a case of her not realising how severe and unpleasant the effects of hypothyroidism are, since she now has an increased risk of developing this I guess? It seems to be clear evidence that, unless you've experienced hypothyroidism, you simply don't realise how awful it can be.

Poor girl. I hope she's made the right decision and all goes well, but I do fear that she's heading for more health problems than she realised by doing this.

I have just one comment: epigenetics are more important than genetics.

greygoose profile image
greygoose

Bit of an over-reaction, and - I would guess - a totally uninformed decision.

I can understand she might want to pre-empt what she perceives as a bad problem, but I don't think she had any idea of the possible conséquences or she wouldn't have done it.

I suppose they told that if she became hypo, she'd just have to pop a little white pill and she'd be fine! Poor girl.

Moral of this story : always consult Dr Google!

I had a healthy uterus and cervix removed because of the risk of cancer, it has caused all sorts of problems, both physically and emotionally. I had had no abnormal smear tests. Biggest regret of my life. After 4 large children I had a prolapse and was pressured into a hysterectomy and not just a repair. Because of my age then (42!) I was told there was a cancer risk.

Churchie profile image
Churchie

Good grief!!!!

I am doing everything I can to hang on to my thyroid despite large nodule/ goitre. Removing a healthy thyroid (or half) is utter madness and no way compares with angelina's decision which was potentially a life/ death one.

The one thing it does show is the general ignorance about the function of the thyroid and it's importance for good health - and eight months ago that included me.

More education needed.

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