In an op-ed in Tuesday’s New York Times, the Oscar-winning movie star wrote that she wrapped up three months of surgical procedures, including reconstructive surgery, in late April
I wanted to write this to tell other women that the decision to have a mastectomy was not easy,” Jolie writes. “But it is one I am very happy that I made. My chances of developing breast cancer have dropped from 87 percent to under 5 percent. I can tell my children that they don’t need to fear they will lose me to breast cancer.”
Jolie, who has six children with fiancé Brad Pitt, writes that her mother, actress Marcheline Bertrand, died at 59 after a long battle with ovarian cancer. That prompted Jolie to pursue genetic testing and discover she carries the BRCA1 gene, with a high likelihood of both breast and ovarian cancer. “I started with the breasts, as my risk of breast cancer is higher than my risk of ovarian cancer, and the surgery is more complex.”
Joli states that fiance, Brad Pitt, stayed by her side and even “had a few chuckles” over the procedure. She had hoped that it would bring them closer, and she claims “it has.”
Read Angelina’s article at nytimes.com
