Oscar winner and activist Angelina Jolie is always up for a fight. And so she writes in Tuesday’s New York Times that during the winter she had a double mastectomy. The reason was that doctors discovered she carried what she calls a “faulty” gene called BRCA1. She had an 87 percent chance of breast cancer and a 50% chance of ovarian cancer. The mother of six had lost her own mother several years earlier at the age of 56.
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/05/14/opinion/my-medical-choice.html?ref=opinion
Jolie writes: “I am fortunate to have a partner, Brad Pitt, who is so loving and supportive. So to anyone who has a wife or girlfriend going through this, know that you are a very important part of the transition. Brad was at the Pink Lotus Breast Center, where I was treated, for every minute of the surgeries. We managed to find moments to laugh together. We knew this was the right thing to do for our family and that it would bring us closer. And it has.”
Jolie underwent reconstructive surgery. Now she’s told her story so that women everywhere will been encouraged to see their doctors and weigh their options. It’s a brave move, but no surprise from a woman who is considered a sex symbol but takes everything about life seriously. Bravo for her courage.
