Angelina Jolie

Ex 1. What is the latest news about Angelina Jolie?

Ex 2. Listen to THE AUDIO and answer the following questions. http://www.stgeorges.co.uk/blog/angelinajolie-double-mastectomy/

1. What is the name of the cancer gene that Angelina Jolie has? ___________________________________________ 2. What was her chance of developing breast cancer before the operation? ___________________________________________ 3. How long did her medical procedures take to complete? ___________________________________________ 4. What does Jolie want to encourage women to do? ___________________________________________

Ex 3. Is any of this news surprising or shocking for you?

Ex 4. It said that Jolie was brave to undergo the preventative surgery and to go public with the news was admirable. How far do you agree with those sentiments?

http://www.stgeorges.co.uk/blog/ For videos, podcasts, competitions to win free English lessons, current affairs articles all to help you improve your English visit our Student Blog every day of the week.

Angelina Jolie
Vocabulary Glossary
No #
1 2

PHRASE
to undergo an operation mastectomy to go public with sth to raise awareness of sth a carrier of a (usually disease linked) gene to contract a disease for the sake of sb to develop (a disease) I feel empowered to be highly susceptible to sth to make your own informed choices

DEFINITION
to have a medical procedure surgery to remove one or both breasts to tell everybody some news that was a secret before to help lots more people know about a subject a human that has DNA that means they are likely to get a disease to get a disease the main reason to do sth is so that it benefits that person to get a disease I feel strong, confident and in control of my life to have a high chance of being harmed by sth to make a good decision based on knowing lots of correct information

3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11

Ex 5. Study the table above for 5 minutes.

Work with a partner: Tell them a phrase from above and ask for a definition.

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Angelina Jolie
Ex 6. Use the phrases from the vocabulary glossary to fill the gaps below. You will have to transform the phrases so that the grammar is correct.

Angelina Jolie has surprisingly

(1) undergone an operation

to have a preventative double

mastectomy to reduce her risk of developing breast cancer. She has also (3)____________________ with the news (in an article in The New York Times) to raise awareness of the disease. Tests revealed that Jolie is a carrier of the BRCA1 cancer gene, which meant that she had an 87% chance of (6)____________________. Angelinas mother died of ovarian cancer at the age of 56, which is also caused by the same inherited gene mutation, so Jolie bravely decided to undergo the procedure (7)____________________. The actress said that her kids often asked her if she would get the illness that killed her mother: My chances of (8)____________________ have dropped from 87 percent to under 5 percent. I can tell my children now that they dont need to fear that they will lose me to breast cancer. The actress praised her fianc, Brad Pitt for being loving, supportive and constantly at her side while she underwent 3 months of medical procedures. She also said: I do not feel any less of a woman. I feel empowered that I made a strong choice that in no way diminishes my femininity. I am writing about it now because I hope that other women can benefit from my experience. Today it is possible to find out through a blood test whether you (10)____________________ breast and ovarian cancer and then take action. It is extremely admirable that Jolie has given a worldwide platform to this sensitive and deeply personal issue which could now benefit so many women: For any woman reading this, I hope it helps you to know you have options. I want to encourage every woman, especially if you have a family history of breast or ovarian cancer, to seek out the information and medical experts who can help you through this aspect of your life, and (11)_________________________________.
http://www.stgeorges.co.uk/blog/ For videos, podcasts, competitions to win free English lessons, current affairs articles all to help you improve your English visit our Student Blog every day of the week.

Angelina Jolie
Ex 7. Discussion Questions (using vocab from the lesson)

1) Do you think that Angeline Jolie is a publicity-hungry star playing the celebrity game or is she genuinely interested in humanitarian causes and and womens issues? 2) If you were Angelina Jolie, would you have gone public with this deeply personal matter? 3) Is it a fair assumption that thousands more women will now go to their doctors and asked to be screened for breast cancer? 4) Will you go (or tell your girlfriends/sister/wife/mother to go) for a breast cancer screening now because of this news? 5) Angelina Jolie is 37. The most common age for women to contract and develop breast cancer is from 45 to 80. Do you think that she underwent the mastectomy too early in life? 6) If Brad Pitt suddenly went public with the news that he had testicular cancer, would more men go to the doctors for a check-up? 7) If lots more women now get tested and discover that they are susceptible to breast cancer, should they insist on elective surgery? Or should these females have regular check-ups to find out if they have early stage cancer and only then undergo surgery? 8) Jolie is rich and famous and has immediate access to the best doctors. In your opinion, will normal women be able to undergo medical procedures in the same manner? 9) If she had known she had the BRAC-1 gene when she was 20, would she have had a preventative mastectomy at that age? 10) Jolie has two biological daughters, who are likely to have inherited the same cancer causing gene that killed their grandmother. What is the most appropriate age for these girls be tested to find out if they have the same gene mutation? Should they be tested now (currently they are 7 and 4 years old)? 11) What is your question to ask the class on this topic?

http://www.stgeorges.co.uk/blog/ For videos, podcasts, competitions to win free English lessons, current affairs articles all to help you improve your English visit our Student Blog every day of the week.

Angelina Jolie
Answers to Ex 6/Transcript of audio

Angelina Jolie has (1)_undergone an operation to have a preventative double mastectomy to reduce her risk of developing breast cancer. She has also surprisingly (3)__gone public with the news (in an article in The New York Times) to raise awareness of the disease. Tests revealed that Jolie is a carrier of the BRCA1 cancer gene, which meant that she had an 87% chance of (6)__contracting the disease. Angelinas mother died of ovarian cancer at the age of 56, which is also caused by the same inherited gene mutation, so Jolie bravely decided to undergo the procedure (7)__for the sake of her children. The actress said that her kids often asked her if she would get the illness that killed her mother: My chances of (8)_developing breast cancer have dropped from 87 percent to under 5 percent. I can tell my children now that they dont need to fear that they will lose me to breast cancer. The actress praised her fianc, Brad Pitt for being loving, supportive and constantly at her side while she underwent 3 months of medical procedures. She also said: I do not feel any less of a woman. I feel empowered that I made a strong choice that in no way diminishes my femininity. I am writing about it now because I hope that other women can benefit from my experience. Today it is possible to find out through a blood test whether you (10)__are highly susceptible to breast and ovarian cancer and then take action. It is extremely admirable that Jolie has given a worldwide platform to this sensitive and deeply personal issue which could now benefit so many women: For any woman reading this, I hope it helps you to know you have options. I want to encourage every woman, especially if you have a family history of breast or ovarian cancer, to seek out the information and medical experts who can help you through this aspect of your life, and (11)__to make your own informed choices.

http://www.stgeorges.co.uk/blog/ For videos, podcasts, competitions to win free English lessons, current affairs articles all to help you improve your English visit our Student Blog every day of the week.