Having a specific gene that increases the probability of a cancer does NOT mean having the cancer. Only certain “percentages” of patients with identified genes actually get the cancer. The point is that “gene” does not cause cancer, for if it did everyone with the gene would, by definition, end up with the cancer. The most important question is, “How does the large percent of people that have the gene NOT get the cancer?” A question medicine totally ignores.
The answer lies in the fact that it takes from 15-20 different genes must be modified to get a cancer off the ground…the other genes (and perhaps the identified so-called “oncogenes” as well) are genes that are activated in regard to our responses to life. Perceptions and the mind are the primary mechanisms that control gene activity, this being the meat and potatoes of Epigenetics. Consequently, the initiation of cancer is now being recognized to have a major life- style component, even the National Cancer Society has recognized that greater than 60% of all cancers are life-style related.
So what about Angelina Jolie and her health choice?