Pierce Brosnan is basking in the glow of a flood of birthday wishes, after celebrating his 67th over the weekend — sending special thanks to wife, Keely Shaye Brosnan: “Thank you for the moon and sun and all the days of our lives together my darling heart Keely. I had a
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Read Morestrong.” The couple celebrated their 26th anniversary in April. Brosnan has credited her with healing him after his tragic losses of three important women in his life to ovarian cancer. “My darling angel heart Keely, thank you for bringing such love and beauty into my life,” he wrote at the time. “[And] for making these past twenty six years the greatest joy of my life…Happy anniversary my brown eyed girl’.
Ovarian Cancer: Pierce Brosnan’s Heartbreak
Brosnan lost his first wife, Cassandra, to ovarian cancer in 1991. Her mother also died of the disease. Later Cassandra's daughter Charlotte, who Brosnan adopted after her father died, also faced an aggressive form of ovarian cancer and died at 41 in 2017.
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He has been open about Smith’s role in relieving the depression that swallowed him after such devastating family loss, calling her “a strength I wouldn't be able to live without.”
Dr. Ursula Matulonis of Dana-Farber Cancer Institute says patients diagnosed with ovarian cancer, she should undergo genetic testing for BRCA mutations.
The link between the ovarian cancer deaths of Cassandra, her mother and daughter is likely in the women's shared genes, and their story could be an important one to note for other women facing ovarian cancer. Experts urge women diagnosed with the disease to seek genetic testing at the time of diagnosis.
Genetic Testing For Ovarian Cancer
A recent study found that too few women are being tested for mutations of the BRCA gene, like BRCA1 or BRCA2 both can place people at a heightened risk for breast cancer or ovarian cancer.
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Dr. Beth Karlan, gynecologic oncologist at UCLA Medical Center did not treat Cassandra or Charlotte, but advises genetic testing can have life-saving benefits, especially because ovarian cancer is curable in over 90 percent of cases when diagnosed early on.
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"It's important when you're deciding whether or not genetic testing would benefit you to try to find out what types of things run in your family," Dr. Karlan says. "Because it can really help to save lives."
Ovarian Cancer Risk: How Much?
Ovarian cancer usually develops in women who are post-menopause. But younger women may also get the disease, especially if they carry the BRCA-1 or BRCA-2 genes. A woman who inherits the BRCA1 gene has a 44% lifetime risk (by age 80) for developing ovarian or fallopian tube cancer., and 70-80% risk of developing breast cancer.
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With the BRCA2 gene, the risk for ovarian and fallopian tube cancer is 17% higher, while the breast cancer risk is around 70%
Women should consult with their doctor, rather than relying on home genetic test kits, to identify BRCA genes. A recent study found that the home DNA testing offered by 23andME may be highly unreliable for determining cancer risk. Although the study was conducted by a market rival of 23andME and not peer-reviewed, it asserts that 23andME can miss the BRCA genes in 90 percent of women.
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