Angelina Jolie’s plans to undergo surgery for ovary removal, it has been reported, after the star wrote a tell-all op-ed in the New York Times explaining her decision to undergo a preventive double mastectomy .
Angelina Jolie and partner Brad Pitt are parents to young children, and Jolie’s mother Marcheline Bertrand passed away at the age of 56 in the mid-90’s due to ovarian cancer.
As medical science advanced, Jolie was able to learn that she carried the relatively newly discovered BRCA1 gene, placing her at a terrifying 87 percent risk of developing breast cancer at some point in her life.
Jolie also disclosed that in the testing, she learned she had a 50 percent chance of one day developing ovarian cancer in addition, which is still a very high risk.
Preventive double mastectomies are procedure that many women who may carry the BRCA1 gene cannot access — and Jolie used her moving written piece to advocate for women without that option.
But the star also plans to go further in her efforts to prevent cancer, and will have her ovaries removed as well. People reports that Jolie’s double mastectomy was the first of two surgeries , and says:
“But her medical odyssey is not done. The mother of six is also planning to undergo surgery to remove her ovaries. Because of her ‘faulty’ BRCA1 gene, she still faces a high risk of developing ovarian cancer, which her doctors estimate at 50 percent. Some doctors recommend patients undergo the surgery by age 40 or when a woman is done having children, though it may trigger early menopause.”
Jolie’s decision to remove her ovaries along with her breasts is still a very brave and unusual one medically — both overall and due to the barriers many women face in obtaining such treatments.
Do you think Angelina Jolie’s ovary removal and double mastectomy will save lives due to the publicity given her surgeries?
