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ORIGINAL: tj444

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ORIGINAL: LafayetteLady
You could be right, but I disagree for a couple of reasons. I don't think Clooney is that shallow. Yes, he is a playboy, but he seems to always date those less famous than him, but still celebrity, which makes for a difficult relationship in Hollywood.

There is also the publicity factor. Brad Pitt's popularity rating is pretty high (as is Clooney's). That would plummet for anyone who dumped her, and that would not be beneficial to them. I'm not saying that is what is making Pitt stay, since in other interviews (before this happened) he talks about how much she means to him. But he certainly would lose his popularity almost 100% if he dumped her, which also means he would be unable to get any work, because no one would want to see his movies (I currently don't care to see his movies anyway).

I think there are 2 big differences between Clooney and Pitt.. and that is the length of time they have had with the women in their lives & kids.. yes, Clooney is a playboy so you really dont expect the women to last all that long with him.. and he has also never had kids with any of them.. but Pitt has been with Angelina for a long time and they have quite a few children.. that puts a very different slant on things to me.. If Pitt did split with her, I dont think a drop in Pitt's rating would be cuz she has a strong rating, I think it would be cuz he would be breaking up their family.. (I think both of their ratings would drop).. People still want families to stay together, the couple to grow old together, still in love with each other and buck the trend, especially for Hollywood.. I hope they are indeed such a couple..

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ORIGINAL: samboct

Now I'm getting puzzled by where the 87% chance cited came from. According to this NCI fact sheet found here: http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/factsheet/Risk/BRCA women who carry the BRCA1 gene have about a 5x greater risk of developing breast cancer than the rest of the population. Furthermore, the NCI is noting that double radical mastectomy does not remove the cancer risk and does not discuss whether it reduces risk at all- but instead suggests use of a drug- tamoxifen, as a prophylaxis. This recommendation is much more in line with the researchers I've spoken with. Furthermore, there are other behavior modifications which also reduce risk such as exercise and weight reduction, both of which in Angelina's Jolie's case, are likely to already be in compliance.

In short, although there is an assumption that she could afford the best of care, I am questioning the reasons for her decision. I suspect that there are a number of other folks in the research community who are similarly surprised.

Sam