Two
years
after
her
double
mastectomy,
Angelina
Jolie
has
undergone
another
preventive
operation
to
remove
her
ovaries
and
fallopian
tubes.
The
39-year-old
actress,
who
lost
her
mother,
grandmother
and
aunt
to
cancer
and
carries
a
mutation
in
the
BRCA1
gene,
wrote
in
a
piece
to
the
New
York
Times
that
she
was
planning
the
surgery
for
some
time.
The
gene
mutation
gives
Jolie
an
estimated
87
per
cent
risk
of
breast
cancer
and
50
per
cent
risk
of
ovarian
cancer.
"I
had
been
planning
this
for
some
time.
It
is
a
less
complex
surgery
than
the
mastectomy,
but
its
effects
are
more
severe.
It
puts
a
woman
into
forced
menopause.
So
I
was
readying
myself
physically
and
emotionally,
discussing
options
with
doctors,
researching
alternative
medicine,
and
mapping
my
hormones
for
estrogen
or
progesterone
replacement.
But
I
felt
I
still
had
months
to
make
the
date," Jolie
wrote.
The
actress,
who
is
married
to
Brad
Pitt
and
raises
three
adopted
and
three
biological
children
with
him,
said
she
decided
to
speed
the
process
after
getting
a
call
from
her
doctor.
"Then
two
weeks
ago
I
got
a
call
from
my
doctor
with
blood-test
results.
'Your
CA-125
is
normal,' he
said.
I
breathed
a
sigh
of
relief.
That
test
measures
the
amount
of
the
protein
CA-125
in
the
blood,
and
is
used
to
monitor
ovarian
cancer.
I
have
it
every
year
because
of
my
family
history.
"But
that
wasn't
all.
He
went
on.
'There
are
a
number
of
inflammatory
markers
that
are
elevated,
and
taken
together
they
could
be
a
sign
of
early
cancer."
I
took
a
pause.
'CA-125
has
a
50
to
75
per
cent
chance
of
missing
ovarian
cancer
at
early
stages,"
he
said.
He
wanted
me
to
see
the
surgeon
immediately
to
check
my
ovaries,"
Jolie
added.
Angelina
Jolie
said
she
went
through
a
difficult
time
but
assured
herself
that
there
was
no
reason
that
she
would
not
see
her
children
grow
up
or
meet
her
grandchildren.
"I
called
my
husband
in
France,
who
was
on
a
plane,
within
hours.
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." Jolie
said
she
was
happy
to
see
that
her
"PET/CT
scan
looked
clear,
and
the
tumor
test
was
negative".
"To
my
relief,
I
still
had
the
option
of
removing
my
ovaries
and
fallopian
tubes
and
I
chose
to
do
it,"
Jolie
said
while
advising
other
women
to
go
through
various
options
and
choose
what
is
right
for
them.
The
39-year-old
actress
said
removing
her
tubes
and
ovaries
was
the
best
option
as
her
doctors
indicated
that
she
should
have
preventive
surgery
about
a
decade
before
the
earliest
onset
of
cancer
in
her
female
relatives.
"My
mother's
ovarian
cancer
was
diagnosed
when
she
was
49.
I'm
39."
Jolie,
an
actress,
director
and
UN
envoy,
agreed
that
it
was
not
possible
to
remove
all
risk
and
she
remained
prone
to
cancer
but
she
will
continue
to
work
for
her
health.
Though
she
is
expecting
some
physical
changes
due
to
the
hormone
replacements,
Jolie
said
she
was
at
ease
about
her
future.
"I
will
look
for
natural
ways
to
strengthen
my
immune
system.
I
feel
feminine,
and
grounded
in
the
choices
I
am
making
for
myself
and
my
family.
I
know
my
children
will
never
have
to
say,
'Mom
died
of
ovarian
cancer.'