Voices: I’m BRCA positive – we need to stop calling it the ‘Angelina Jolie gene’
msn.comBRCA gene mutation, gauged their reaction, and if they’ve looked lost, I’ve added: “you know, like Angelina Jolie”. People tend to remember that one of the world’s most famous and beautiful film stars has had her breasts removed.
So it can be quite handy to have her there, as a touchstone. And yet, it does grate on me when there’s a news story about BRCA and it’s called “the Angelina Jolie gene”, because it just contributes to people not knowing the real name for it.
It’s lazy, and it’s inaccurate, too. BRCA1 and BRCA2 aren’t genes you have or don’t have. Everyone has the gene. They are gene mutations.
I don’t remember the last time I saw something in print about BRCA that wasn’t accompanied by a photo of Angelina Jolie. Just once, I’d like to see an ordinary woman with breast cancer instead.
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