Angelina Jolie has revealed she has had a preventive double mastectomy to reduce her risk of developing breast cancer.
Health campaigners praised her decision to go public with the news, which she said was prompted by a desire to encourage other women to get gene-tested and to raise awareness of the options available to those at risk.
The actor has a defective gene, BRCA1, which doctors told her had increased her risk of developing breast cancer to 87%, and her risk of ovarian cancer, the disease that killed her mother at the age of 56, to 50%, she wrote in the New York Times.
The surgery, which began in February, had reduced Jolie's risk of breast cancer to less than 5%, she said.
'I can tell my children that they don't need to fear they will lose me to breast cancer,' she wrote. 'It is reassuring that they see nothing that makes them uncomfortable. They can see my small scars and that's it. Everything else is just Mommy, the same as she always was. And they know that I love them and will do anything to be with them as long as I can. On a personal note, 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.'
The 37-year-old, who has six children – three adopted and three with Brad Pitt, who was by her side for 'every minute of the surgeries' – finished three months of medical procedures on 27 April. .
Angelina Jolie has revealed she has had a preventive double mastectomy to reduce her risk of developing breast cancer.
Health campaigners praised her decision to go public with the news, which she said was prompted by a desire to encourage other women to get gene-tested and to raise awareness of the options available to those at risk.
The actor has a defective gene, BRCA1, which doctors told her had increased her risk of developing breast cancer to 87%, and her risk of ovarian cancer, the disease that killed her mother at the age of 56, to 50%, she wrote in the New York Times.
The surgery, which began in February, had reduced Jolie's risk of breast cancer to less than 5%, she said.
'I can tell my children that they don't need to fear they will lose me to breast cancer,' she wrote. 'It is reassuring that they see nothing that makes them uncomfortable. They can see my small scars and that's it. Everything else is just Mommy, the same as she always was. And they know that I love them and will do anything to be with them as long as I can. On a personal note, 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.'
The 37-year-old, who has six children – three adopted and three with Brad Pitt, who was by her side for 'every minute of the surgeries' – finished three months of medical procedures on 27 April.
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'I hope that other women can benefit from my experience,' Angelina Jolie wrote in a powerful op-ed article Tuesday, explaining her decision to go public with having her breasts removed to avoid cancer.
But amid the accolades for the film star's courageous revelation, doctors and genetic counselors were careful to note that her medical situation -- an inherited genetic mutation putting her at high risk of breast and ovarian cancer -- was very specific, and that her course of action made sense for only a small category of women.
Still, they hailed her bravery and said that she would surely help increase awareness -- and thus, perhaps, help save some lives.
'Having this conversation empowers us all,' said Rebecca Nagy, a genetic counselor who works frequently with women who test positive for a defective version of the BRCA1 gene, as Jolie did. 'It's wonderful what she's done.'
In a stunning op-ed piece in the New York Times, Jolie, 37, began by speaking of her late mother, Marcheline Bertrand, who died of cancer at 56, before she was able to meet most of her grandchildren.
The actress revealed that beginning in February, she underwent three surgeries -- which she succeeded in keeping secret from the public -- in which her breasts were removed, and later replaced by implants.
'I wanted to write this to tell other women that the decision to have a mastectomy was not easy. But it is one I am
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People magazine's Larry Hackett discusses how family, career affected actress' health decision.
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The Telegraph's Deputy Women's Editor Louisa Peacock says the news that Angelina Jolie has had a preventive double mastectomy will inspire women to tackle breast cancer head on.
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Actress Angelina Jolie has revealed she has undergone a preventative double mastectomy to reduce her risk of breast cancer. Report by Sarah Johnston.
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Actress Angelina Jolie has revealed she has undergone a preventative double mastectomy to reduce her risk of breast cancer.
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Angelina Jolie says she underwent a preventive double mastectomy earlier this year after learning she carries a gene that increases her risk of developing breast cancer and ovarian cancer.
In a New York Times op-ed published late Monday, the 37-year-old Academy Award winner writes that after genetic testing she learned she carries the 'faulty' BRCA1 gene.
The risk of developing cancer due to the gene varies, but Jolie says doctors estimated she had an 87 percent risk of breast cancer and a 50 percent risk of ovarian cancer.
Jolie — whose mother, actress Marcheline Bertrand, died from cancer — says she decided to have the preventive mastectomy to be 'proactive' for the sake of her six children with her partner, Brad Pitt.
'My mother fought cancer for almost a decade and died at 56,' Jolie writes. 'She held out long enough to meet the first of her grandchildren and to hold them in her arms. But my other children will never have the chance to know her and experience how loving and gracious she was.'
Jolie said she has kept the process private so far, but wrote about with hopes of helping other women.
'I wanted to write this to tell other women that the decision to have a mastectomy was not easy,' she 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
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Actress had preventative surgery after she was told she had an 87 percent chance of breast cancer.
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American actress Angelina Jolie has written about her decision to have a double mastectomy.
The Oscar-winner was found to have a faulty gene which sharply increases the chance of her developing breast and ovarian cancer.
Jolie, who lives with Hollywood star Brad Pitt, says in an article for the New York Times that her mother fought cancer for 10 years before her death.
She writes: 'My doctors estimated that I had an 87% risk of breast cancer and a 50% risk of ovarian cancer, although the risk is different in the case of each woman.
'Only a fraction of breast cancers result from an inherited gene mutation. Those with a defect in BRCA1 have a 65% risk of getting it, on average.
'Once I knew that this was my reality, I decided to be proactive and to minimise the risk as much I could. I made a decision to have a preventive double mastectomy.'
Jolie, 37, who has six children - three by Pitt and three adopted - goes on: 'On April 27, I finished the three months of medical procedures that the mastectomies involved.
'During that time I have been able to keep this private and to carry on with my work. But I am writing about it now because I hope that other women can benefit from my experience.
'Cancer is still a word that strikes fear into people’s hearts, producing a deep sense of powerlessness.
'But today it is possibl
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The actress discovered she has the BRCA1 gene which increases the risk of getting breast cancer.
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