‘I hope that other women can benefit from my experience’

Angelina Jolie explains her double mastectomy

Explaining her decision, Angelina Jolie wrote in the New York Times that she underwent a double mastectomy to reassure her six children that she would not die young from cancer, as her own mother did at 56.

“We often speak of ‘Mommy’s mommy’, and I find myself trying to explain the illness that took her away from us. They have asked if the same could happen to me,” wrote Jolie (37). “I have always told them not to worry, but the truth is I carry a ‘faulty’ gene” – BRCA1.

She continued: “Once I knew this was my reality, I decided to be proactive and to minimise the risk as much as I could. I made a decision to have a preventive double mastectomy. I started with the breasts, as my risk of breast cancer is higher than my risk of ovarian cancer, and the surgery is more complex . . .

“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 possible to find out through a blood test whether you are highly susceptible to breast and ovarian cancer, and then take action . . .

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“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 per cent to under 5 per cent. I can tell my children that they don’t need to fear they will lose me to breast cancer.

“For any woman reading this, I hope it helps you to know you have options. I want to encourage every woman, especially if you have a family history of breast or ovarian cancer, to seek out the information and medical experts who can help you through this aspect of your life, and to make your own informed choices.”