The news today has been littered with stories of how courageous Angelina Jolie was in going public with her decision to have a double mastectomy because she has a cancer gene. At the risk of hurting some truly courageous people who have fought and are fighting cancer I do not believe her decision, as difficult as it was, was couragerous. It was a decision she could make because she could afford to! What a great option to have!
Most Americans, if they went to their doctors and asked for such a procedure could not pay for it out of pocket, or get their insurance companies to fund it. The media as a whole has neglected to discuss the issue of affordable healthcare. Does America have the best health care in the world? Yes! Do most Americans have access to the best healthcare in the world? No!
Courageous to me would be if Angelina Jolie had come out and offered to fund some mastecomies for women who will never have the money, or healthcare to have such a life saving operation. Courageous to me would be if such a famous person would use her media stature to draw attention, raise money, or give public service announcements for cancer treatments and research. Courageous to me are all the cancer fighters who fought insurance companies while fighting for their lives! Angelina Jolie was as courageous as her money allowed her to be!
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