Angelina Jolie had a preventative double mastectomy in 2013. And today, she’s revealed she recently also had her ovaries and fallopian tubes removed.
Actor and director Angelina Jolie has revealed she recently had surgery to remove her ovaries and fallopian tubes.
Jolie, 39, revealed in an op-ed in the New York Times that she underwent the preventative surgery last week.
The surgery was preventative in nature, in response to Jolie’s discovery in 2013 that she carries a mutation in the BRCA1 gene that gave her an estimated 87 percent risk of breast cancer and a 50 percent risk of ovarian cancer.
After undergoing a double mastectomy to reduce her chances of developing breast cancer, Jolie revealed in today’s op-ed that she thought she had more time to prepare for the latest surgery – until her doctor discovered a number of elevated inflammatory markers that could be a sign of early cancer.
“I called my husband in France, who was on a plane within hours,” Jolie wrote.
Related: There’s more to Angelina Jolie’s decision than meets the eye.
The Unbroken director added that she had found some peace with the outcome.
“The beautiful thing about such moments in life is that there is so much clarity. You know what you live for and what matters. It is polarizing, and it is peaceful.”
The latest surgery means that Jolie is in menopause and will no longer be able to bear biological children — but she says she feels particularly deeply for women with similar health issues who must have their ovaries and fallopian tubes removed before they have children.
“Their situation is far harder than mine,” she wrote.
Tragically, Angelina’s mother died at the age of 56 in 2007 after a decade of fighting ovarian cancer.
In a 2011 interview with 60 minutes, Angelina praised her mother and claimed that she “will never be as good a mother as she was… she was the most generous, loving – she’s better than me.”
Jolie has also previously explained her motivation for sharing her personal health journey publicly. She explained in a 2013 op-ed for the New York Times:
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 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.
The BRCA1 gene is something all women need to know about.
According to Pink Hope – an Australian charity set up to support women with the breast cancer gene – women who carry a fault in BRCA1 or BRCA2 have a high lifetime risk of breast cancer, estimated to be in the range of 30-60%, and a lifetime ovarian cancer risk of about 20%.
A few years ago, Mia Freedman interview her friend and former colleague Jackie Cross, who had her healthy breasts removed to safe her life. Their interview is a must-watch.
Top Comments
I carry the BRCA2 gene and will be having this procedure this year. I am 43 and had to convince my GP that this is what the genetic specialist recommend. It made me realise how much GP's need to stay abreast of new developments. Initially she tried to talk me out of it. What the article doesn't mention is that by removing the ovaries, you are also reducing the risk of breast cancer by 50% if you carry the gene. I am a little curious as to why Angelina didn't have the operations the other way around considering her personal history.
The double masctecomy is much less invasive than removing the ovaries or uterus, and has fewer hormonal implications. Most women start with the breasts preventatively, if they're doing one or the other.
I love her. She's always so gracious and quick to acknowledge how privileged she is, even when she's struggling through extremely difficult things.