LINK OF INTEREST

If Mother's Day is about the sacrifice that mom's make for their children, what better way to pay tribute to that than with our own health.  I applaud Angelina Jolie for coming public [in her NY Times Op-Ed about her preventative double mastectomy] with her own battle for health and time on Earth to spend with her family.  This is the new warrior: Mom.

The Learning Blog at the NY Times has some questions to review while reading and researching this op-ed piece.  These might be interesting and informative for older kids.  Plus, this is a great resource for reading the news with your kids.

Angelina Jolie’s ‘My Medical Choice’

By KATHERINE SCHULTEN

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Note: As a general rule, we don’t use Op-Eds for this feature — but, as a general rule, movie stars don’t break news by writing them. Given the content of, and the response to, this piece, we thought an exception was warranted.

Have students read Angelina Jolie’s “My Medical Choice” to answer the questions below. For more on the issue, they might also read Denise Grady’s “Jolie’s Disclosure Highlights a Breast Cancer Dilemma.”

WHO is Angelina Jolie?

WHAT is an Op-Ed?
WHAT are BRCA mutations?
WHAT did Ms. Jolie’s doctors estimate was her risk of developing breast cancer?
WHAT did she do to “be proactive” and minimize her risk?

WHEN did Ms. Jolie begin the medical process, and WHEN did it end?

WHERE was Ms. Jolie treated?

WHY, according to her essay, did Ms. Jolie have the procedure?
WHY does she say she decided not to keep her decision private?

HOW many people does breast cancer kill each year, according to the World Health Organization?
HOW do you feel about Ms. Jolie’s medical choice?
HOW do you feel about her decision to tell the world about it through a New York Times Op-Ed?