"dr. gupta md" begins right now. today, what time magazine is calling the angelina effect. a public announcement prompts a worldwide conversation about breast cancer. you are also going to hear from another actress and breast cancer survivor, christina applegate. as i'm sure you know angelina jolie made a brave decision, i would call it, this week revealing she underwent a preventative double mastectomy. to be clear she did not have breast cancer but discovered she had the mutated brc1 gene which increased her risk for breast and ovarian cancers. in an op-ed in "new york times "she wrote, quote, i chose not to keep my story private because

there are many women who do not know they might be living under the shadow of cancer. it is my hope they can get gene tested and if they have a high risk they will know that they have strong options. she's right. there are thousands of women unaware they may carry this genetic mutation. it's important to stress only 5% to 10% of women diagnosed with breast cancer do, in fact, have the defective brca-1 or 2 jeans. joining me to talk about this, put it in context is the director of genetic counseling at emery university. thanks for joining us. try to give a little context and angelina in her op-ed did, as well. most women do not have the defective gene. less than 1%. >> correct. less than 1% of women in the general population actually less than half a percent would carry a mutation in brca 1 or 2. >> the women who do get diagnosed, only 5% to 10% of them have the gene. >> at most. recent data suggests 3% to 5%. >> what is a woman to take from

this? you hear the announcement from angelina jolie. you worry about breast cancer. for whatever reason. who should be tested? >> the vast majority of women are not going to carry a mutation in brc 1 or 2. we look for clues in the family history. that would be multiple cases of breast cancer in the family. earlier age of onset. ovarian cancer in the family as well. a woman who's had both breasts and ovarian cancer is a strong indicator. also male breast cancer. and oshkinazi jewish ancestry. 1 in 40 women of that ancestry carry this gene. >> i shared earlier my own mother is a breast cancer survivor. >> mm-hmm. >> my mother. now i have three daughters. again, a lot of people were asking this in their family trees. what would you counsel my

family, for example. >> it would depend on the age your mother was diagnosed with breast cancer. it would also depend on the pathology of the breast cancer. there are certain types more likely to be associated with mutations. then i would look at the more extended family. sisters, cousins, nieces, nephews. aunts, uncles, grandparents. one thing that's important for women to understand is that these gene mutations are equally inherited by men and women and fathers can pass them to their daughters. so often people think about, oh, if i have a mother or a sister. you have to look on the father's side of the family. you have to look at aunts and uncles, cousins, grandparents to really see the pattern that's going on. >> one thing that was mentioned in the op-ed is the cost. it's not cheap. i think $4,000 roughly. unless you are considered high risk, i believe, in which case it may be covered by many insurance companies.

>> many insurance companies cover the testing. often with policies that say you have to meet certain criteria. again, there has to be some level of suspicion in the family or in that individual based on their personal cancer history. also, even though the first person in the family tested costs $4,000, once a specific mutation is identified then the testing for every other family member is only $475. if you think of it in the context of a family it's actually pretty cost effective. >> i think the numbers are important. people trying to put this together for themselves and their families this week. thanks so much for joining us. >> my pleasure. christina applegate is an emmy-award winning actress, a wife, a mother and a breast cancer survivor herself. she's not only speaking out

about how she detected the disease, she's helping women across america access the same screening she had. knowing she had a strong family history of breast cancer, christina applegate began mammograms at 30. but that's not the test that detected her cancer. >> the doctors getting my mammograms said it's time to do the mris because of the density and their inability to see what was going on. luckily for me he did that. because they found on the mri the calcifications which then through the biopsy found it was cancer. >> she's also a carrier of the brca-1 mutation. >> i was so resistant to the idea of mastectomy. i thought this is ridiculous. i'm not doing that. >> you didn't want one, but after all the data came back, you talked to your doctor, you

decided a double mastectomy was the thing to do. >> when my head goes into vanity sometimes i go, darn it, you know, i miss those gals. but it's closely followed by this is about your life. you know, what's the sacrifice of that? >> healthy and now cancer-free, applegate is on a mission to provide other women the same access to screenings she had. >> i can't stress enough. it saved my life. there is no ifs, ands or buts about it. i just had a mammogram. there was nothing on it. this found it at a stage that was curable instead of at a stage where it's not. i also unfortunately know that mri screenings are incredibly expensive and a lot of insurance companies don't cover that which is why i started my foundation. it just really upset me so much that these women were opting not to have this really valuable screening because of money. because of we are not taking

care of women who are high risk. >> her foundation called right action for women provided hundreds of women funding to get both the mri and brca genetic testing. up next i will speak with another breast cancer patient. she's our very own zorida sambalin and she says angelina jolie's story empowered her to share her story. ♪ if loving you is wrong ♪ i don't wanna be right [ record scratch ] what?! it's not bad for you. it just tastes that way. [ female announcer ] honey nut cheerios cereal -- heart-healthy, whole grain oats. you can't go wrong loving it.

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stay in the groove with align. your skin can grow more beautiful every time you wear it. neutrogena® healthy skin liquid makeup. 98% of women saw improvement in their skin. neutrogena® cosmetics. at the beginning i was really scared. i was in a really dark place because i allowed myself to go to worst case scenario. so when i was told i had breast cancer i was driving to pick up my son from school. i really had to compose and gather myself. i didn't want him to know. that night i let myself feel. i talked to the doctor. he talked to me about different options. that was my darkest hour. >> that, of course, is "early

start" anchor zoraida sambolin talking about dark moments with a cancer diagnosis. she joins me from her native chicago along with dr. john kim who will perform her breast reconstruction. before we begin i want viewers to be forewarned this is a sensitive segment. we'll show images of nude breasts that may not be appropriate viewing for everyone. try to give you a heads-up before those images come on the screen. thanks for joining us. i have had a chance to follow your discussions this past week. i said before to you it's so important and so powerful the message that you had this week. you talked about the idea that angelina jolie's announcement gave you this opening to talk about the recent diagnosis. was it hard to reveal your personal struggle to such a wide audience? >> yes. i mean, it's not something easy

to talk about. there are a couple of things that are more complicated to talk about than others, you know. it's an emotional decision. when i think about my children. especially, you know, when i think about my daughter and perhaps her increased risk factor now. i have talked about the fact that when i think about my sexuality. it was something i had to deal with. i was embarrassed that i cared. all of those things were really complicated and then to tell everybody that this is what i'm worried about and this is what is concerning me and this is a decision that i made. yeah, it was, it was liberating and it was also difficult. >> i'm sure it's frightening. just so many people, i'm sure all around you that know about this that didn't before. my understanding is in a little bit more than a week now you'll get a double mastectomy, which means both breasts will be removed. during that same procedure you will get the first step of breast reconstruction. now we will show some of the

images that may not be appropriate for everybody. these are former patients of yours, dr. kim. can you talk through some of the before and after images and talk about what's now available to women that maybe wasn't available 15 years ago and how you go about trying to get the natural look that you are describing. >> right. >> the way to get the natural look comes from two main sources. we want to get the volume filled back to what the woman wants in terms of the size of the breast. and we want to get the shape of the breast back down, too. you can do that by using your own tissue again, typically from the tummy, sometimes from the back. in this particular case this woman had bilateral double mastectomies. we were able to see on the before that she had her nipples and breasts -- they were

smaller, probably a b cup. she wished, if possible, to get a larger size. so with the combination of newer technology with newer types of implants, newer techniques we were able to preserve her nipple. if you notice on the side there is a little scar. there is a tiny scar that goes laterally or towards the outside. with that slight scar we were able to completely reduce the risk, as best as possible with the double mastectomy and give her breasts even in clothing, outside of clothing make her feel natural and give her the sense of self and whatever other issues related to sexuality back again. >> this may be more of a psychological question. given these advanced techniques and what's now possible in the world of reconstruction do you find women are -- i'm not sure aggressive is the word, but more likely to go ahead and have a mastectomy or a double mastectomy when confronting this diagnosis? >> over the past several years,

more and more women who have breast cancer on one side are electing to get prophylactic mastectomy on the other side. i think from talking to them and culling over hundreds of patients i think the idea is that they want to reduce risk as much as they can. when they see what's possible in terms of reconstructing the breast after that maximal risk reduction is done then they feel that, you know what, this is a trade-off, a balance. they are willing to undergo this maybe a little bit more radical surgery because they know they will get the form and features of their breasts back to a reasonable degree. it is empowering that the evolution of reconstruction has perhaps allowed women a little bit more choice when it comes to breast surgical options. >> i know you have had a lot of conversations with dr. kim about this. maybe seen some of the same

images. was that part of your decision-making as well? this idea that these reconstructive options are available? how much does that play into your thinking regarding the cancer treatment? >> well, it played into it a lot. the first option i was given was a lumpectomy with radiation. i thought long and hard about that. the radiation was actually what scared me. you know, i almost felt a sense of relief, sanjay. i thought, now it can all go. i don't have to worry about that anymore. i don't have to worry about side effects with radiation. so it was a big factor in my decision. you know, it was. i wanted to feel still like a woman. >> i really appreciate your time. i think a lot of people will gain a lot out of this discussion. we wish you luck. live strong. hope to check in with you soon. up next, the eternal question of what to eat. michael pollen will stop by with a piece of eating advice that's fun. it's also almost guaranteed to

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you know, we hear a lot about the connection between diet and health. so what if i told you that there's one thing that you can do that pretty much guarantees feeling better? it's not a workout. it's not a vegetable. it's not a supplement. it's the simple act of cooking your own food. well, that's the case michael paulen makes in his new book,

it's called "cook." thanks for being back on the show. >> sure. >> it's a great book. i've tried to cook more food more recently myself just because i enjoy the process. i have small children and find it very communal and a great social thing for families. >> for sure. >> you've written a lot of books, why did you decide to write this? >> you know, what matters most is not really the nutrients, good or bad, and it's important that scientists know about that and work on that, but for the average person the key fact about your diet is who is cooking it. is it a human being, preferably yourself or a loved one? or is it a corporation? when corporations are cooking your food, that's when we get into trouble because they cook really badly. >> if you go to big restaurants they may not be using as high quality food but you also wrote in the book they tend to sort of bury it with salt and sugar and things like that. >> well, their business model involves getding -- especially talking fast food mostly and

processed foods you find, the home meal replacements you find in the supermarket, buy the cheapest possible raw ingredi t ingredien ingredients, dress up with a lot of salt, fat and sugar cover a multitude of sins of quality and use lots of additives to keep the food looking fresher than it really is because it's got to stay on the shelf or freezer case for years. those additives are a problem. the salt, fat and sure ggar is problem. you would never cook like that at home. you don't need that stuff. but if you look at the ingredients, you find all the stuff in the restaurant and process food no human would ever cook with. >> going to take getting used to a little bit, but a lot of this made a lot of sense. i say that in part frf a medical angle, but going back to the cooking for a second, have you done more cooking now? >> yeah. i've really learned the importance of cooking on many levels. from a health point of view it is the easiest thing you can do to improve your health. if you're cooking, you can stop

counting calories, you can stop worrying about nutrients. you're not going to cook junk. you're not going to make french fries, it's too much work. if you're out buying food, you're going to eat french fries twice a day. there's something built into the work itself that naturally pushes you towards a healthier diet. and i think the important thing for all of us because we are very busy and hard to find time to cook is get our kids in the kitchen, get them to help. the most important thing you can teach your kid for their long-term health and happiness is this life skill, how to cook. so i think it offers us a lot. it offers us also if you cook, you're going to have family meals. you're all going to sit down together because you've done all this work. eat real food has been a piece of advice you've been giving for a long time. >> it's simple. >> it's very simple. i always enjoy speaking on you. you fit a lot in. i really appreciate your time. >> thanks a lot. >> a check of your top stories just minutes away, but up next the little known story of how

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mcdonald talking about her life's work. >> and we started with a little laser the size of a bread box. we would shoot at plastic or rabbit or monkey and then hand crank the die ya frame, hand crank again. as time passed, you know, we added more and more sophistication to it. so we were doing animals when a 62-year-old woman named alberta cassidy developed a cancer in her eye socket. she said you're going to have to remove my eye in a few days to try to save my life, would anybody like to experiment on my eye? so we got permission to rush her out past all the apes, past all the gorillas and lay her down out at the primate center and do a treatment. we got the tissue 11 days later, and the results were fantastic. we realized that it was possible

to sculpt the cornea without any thermal damage, without any scarring. so we began to realize the impact that this might have. poor miss cassidy lost her battle with cancer and died, but i was able to convince the university to name the laser laboratory after her. it's unbelievable to me and very gratifying to me to run into people everywhere who are now enjoying life free of glasses and contacts. it's been a game changer and i'm very honored to have been a part of it. >> you know, if you're considering laser eye surgery, there are some things you should keep in mind. first of all, keep your expectations in check. if your vision is especially bad, laser surgery is less likely to be effective for you. also, you should be at least 18 years old. before that your eyes are still developing and changing and you need to be healthy. laser eye surgery is not recommended if you have diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis, glaucoma or other conditions

that may effect the eye. as always, talk to your doctor first. any surgical procedure carries risks. if you're happy with glasses and contact lens, it's probably not worth it to have the procedure. after all, we're here to help you chase life. that's going to wrap things up, but stay connected with me at cnn.com/sanjay. time now though for a check of your top stories making news right now. from cnn world headquarters in atlanta, this is "cnn sunday morning". the intruder has the last remaining female in a head lock and taking her downstairs with a gun pointed to her head. >> a chilling account of a young student shot to death in a home invasi invasion, but it wasn't the suspect who killed her. a very sad story. we'll tell you how this ended. tornadoes, floods and