Angelina Jolie, public health spokesperson. 2 years after having undergone a double mastectomy, she announced that she had her ovaries removed, in order to prevent cancer.
“Knowledge is power. Actress and director Angelina Jolie has had her ovaries and fallopian tubes removed. She relates her experience in a forum of New York Times. Two years after announcing her double mastectomy, she is still a spokesperson for public health: women must take charge of their health and be informed.
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“I lost my mother, my grandmother and an aunt because of cancer”, recalls Angelina Jolie in her tribune. Like them, the three women carried a mutation in the BRCA1 gene. The risk of the actress developing breast cancer was 87%, that of ovarian cancer was 50%. Two years ago, she chose to have both breasts removed for prevention. At the time, in a tribune of the New York Times, she encouraged women to learn about their personal risks.
In this second forum, she once again underlines the importance of understanding the choices in the face of such an announcement. “I didn’t do it just because I carry a mutation in the BRCA1 gene, and I want women to know about it,” writes the UN ambassador. “A positive BRCA test does not mean that you need to have an operation (…). The most important thing to do is learn about the different choices, and choose the one that is right for you personally. “
“I had to prepare myself”
Finding out, that’s exactly what Angelina Jolie did. The director performs blood tests every year. The last, made two months before its platform, raised fears that she would develop ovarian cancer. “I went through, I guess, what thousands of women have felt. I told myself to stay calm, to stay strong, that I had no reason to believe that I would not live to see my children grow up and know my grandchildren, ”she recalls.
The various examinations do not reveal anything to worry about, but the American actress still decides to take preventive measures. Indeed, his doctors recommended that he undergo surgery 10 years before the earliest cancer in his family. 39-year-old Angelina Jolie’s mother was diagnosed at 49.
“It is a less complex surgery than mastectomy, but its effects are heavier”, details the UN ambassador. “It induces forced menopause. So I had to prepare myself physically and emotionally, discuss this possibility with the doctors, seek alternative treatment, and prepare my hormones for estrogen and progesterone substitution. The intervention does not find cancer, but a small benign tumor.
“These are not easy decisions”
Angelina Jolie is now in menopause. A patch delivers estrogen and an intrauterine device progesterone. “It will help me to keep a hormonal balance, but especially to prevent uterine cancer,” she explains. “I chose to keep my uterus because cancer there is not in my family history. “
The director concludes her column with a thought for younger women going through the same situation. “These are not easy decisions. But it is possible to control and tackle these health problems head-on. You can seek advice, educate yourself about the options, and choose what’s right for you. Knowledge is power. “
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