“I feel feminine, and grounded in the choices I am making for myself and my family”
This morning news broke that Angelina Jolie took precautionary measures when she underwent preventative surgery to remove her ovaries and fallopian tubes, two years after she had a double mastectomy. “I lost my mother, grandmother and aunt to cancer. I wanted other women at risk to know about the options,” the mother of six explained.
The Hollywood actress and U.N. Goodwill ambassador who wrote about it in the NY Times explained that she made the tough decision because she carries a mutation in the BRAC1 gene that gave her a 50% higher risk of suffering from ovarian cancer.
“It is not easy to make these decisions,” she said. “But it is possible to take control and tackle head-on any health issue.”
The procedure is one that forces women into menopause and Jolie, 39, will now be taking hormone replacements. She explains, “Regardless of the hormone replacements I’m taking, I am now in menopause. I will not be able to have any more children, and I expect some physical changes. But I feel at ease with whatever will come, not because I am strong but because this is a part of life. It is nothing to be feared”
The actress, who wrote about her decision to have a double mastectomy after finding out that she carried the gene mutation two years ago, explained that she wants to help provide information to women who have or are going through similar experiences.
“It is not easy to make these decisions. But it is possible to take control and tackle head-on any health issue. You can seek advice, learn about the options and make choices that are right for you. Knowledge is power,” she said.