Angelina Jolie Undergoes Preventative Double Mastectomy
Today an article written by Angelina Jolie appeared in The New York Times: The Opinion Page revealing that she underwent a preventative mastectomy after being told she had an 87 percent risk of breast cancer and 50 percent chance of ovarian cancer. Jolie's mom, Marchline Bertrand , had a long fight with cancer which resulted in her death at the age of 56 in 2007. "... the truth is I carry a “faulty” gene, BRCA1, which sharply increases my risk of developing breast cancer and ovarian cancer . My doctors estimated that I had an 87 percent risk of breast cancer and a 50 percent risk of ovarian cancer, although the risk is different in the case of each woman." Angelina saw a double mastectomy as her only option for herself and family. " Once I knew that this was my reality, I decided to be proactive and to minimize the risk as much I could. I made a decision to have a preventive double mastectomy . I ...