Jolie joins growing list of celebs with mastectomies

Christina Applegate arrives at the 13th Annual Unforgettable Evening benefiting the Entertainment Industry Foundation’s Women’s Cancer Research Fund in Beverly Hills, Calif. on Wednesday, Jan. 27, 2010. (AP / Matt Sayles)

When Angelina Jolie announced that she had undergone a prophylactic double mastectomy to reduce her risk of developing breast cancer, she joined a small but growing number of celebrities who have had the procedure and gone public with their story.

Like Jolie, many of these women took preventive action after they tested positive for gene mutations that dramatically raised their risk of developing cancer. Other celebrities have shared their experience of being diagnosed with cancer and then having one or both breasts removed as part of their treatment and to prevent future disease.

In the editorial published in the New York Times Tuesday, Jolie wrote: "I wanted to write this to tell other women that the decision to have a mastectomy was not easy. But it is one I am very happy that I made.” Here, then, are just some of the other famous women (and one man) who have publicly shared their experience with mastectomy.

Christina Applegate:

In April 2008, Applegate was starring in the sitcom “Samantha Who?” when her doctor recommended that, rather than her regular mammograms, she should have an MRI. Applegate’s mother had survived breast cancer and she had been undergoing regular screening for the disease since age 30.

An MRI and a biopsy later, the 36-year-old was diagnosed with breast cancer. Genetic testing also revealed that she carried the BRCA gene mutation that increased her risk of developing the disease.

After having the cancerous tissue removed via a lumpectomy, her doctors suggested radiation. However, Applegate chose a bilateral mastectomy -- having both breasts removed -- because, as she told Oprah Winfrey, “I don’t want to have to deal with this again.”

Applegate also had reconstructive surgery, as did Jolie, and has spoken since about having an “emotional breakdown” in the wake of her ordeal. However, a long-time friend, Martyn LeNoble, emerged as a strong source of support. The two fell in love, married, and now have a daughter.

Applegate also turned her experience into an opportunity to advocate for women to have better access to MRI and genetic testing, which remains expensive in the United States.

Sharon Osbourne

“The Osbournes” star and wife of rocker Ozzy revealed last year that she underwent a preventive double mastectomy upon learning that she, too, carried a genetic mutation that raised her breast cancer risk.

The 60-year-old called her decision a “no-brainer” in an interview with Hello! magazine, particularly given that a decade before she had been diagnosed with colon cancer.

"I didn't want to live the rest of my life with that shadow hanging over me,” Osbourne told the magazine, adding that she wanted to be around for her children and for her first grandchild, Pearl.

Osbourne’s battle with colon cancer compelled her to found the Sharon Osbourne Colon Cancer Program at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles. Her prophylactic mastectomy has compelled her to swear off all plastic surgery, which she had been open about having in the past.

Kathy Bates

The Oscar-winning actress revealed last fall that she had both breasts removed after being diagnosed with breast cancer over the summer.

The actress received her diagnosis not long after her legal drama, “Harry’s Law,” was cancelled.

"I don't miss my breasts as much as I miss Harry's Law. ;-) Thanks for all the sweet tweets. Y'all kept me going," Bates tweeted last September in announcing her diagnosis and surgery.

The 64-year-old told People magazine that, “My doctors have assured me I'm going to be around for a long time. I'm looking forward to getting back to work doing what I love to do."

Bates was also treated for ovarian cancer in 2003-04.

Wanda Sykes

The comedian learned she had ductal cancer in situ (DCIS), or what’s also called stage-zero cancer, in 2011 following breast-reduction surgery.

DCIS is controversial because research shows that not all cases will develop into full-blown disease.

Sykes cited a family history of breast cancer, as well as the need to undergo monitoring tests every three months, as reasons for her decision to have the double mastectomy.

“I had both breasts removed because now I have zero chance of having breast cancer,” Sykes told talk-show host Ellen DeGeneres.

Unlike other celebrities, however, Sykes was unsure about going public with her experience.

"I was like, I don't know, should I talk about it or what? How many things could I have? I'm black, then lesbian. I can't be the poster child for everything.”

Olivia Newton-John

The Australian singer and actor was diagnosed with breast cancer in 1992, and opted to have the one breast removed followed by reconstructive surgery.

Newton-John said her decision was motivated in part by the fact that the same weekend she received her news, her father died from liver cancer.

The singer became a vocal advocate for better cancer treatment and care, so much so that she opened the Olivia Newton-John Cancer & Wellness Centre in Melbourne.

“The whole experience has given me so much understanding and compassion,” the singer writes on the centre’s website. “I now want to help others going through the same journey.”

Richard Roundtree

While breast cancer affects mainly women, the American Cancer Society estimates that a man’s lifetime risk of developing the disease is 1 in 1,000.

The “Shaft” star was diagnosed with the disease at age 51 after a tumour was found in his right breast, despite the fact he was not considered at risk for the disease.

Roundtree had a mastectomy, followed by both radiation and chemotherapy. But he was originally afraid to go public with his story over concerns that acting jobs would dry up if he no longer qualified for the necessary insurance.

Eventually, Roundtree turned his experience into an opportunity to help raise awareness about male breast cancer, and has worked with the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation as a public speaker.