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.
- Angelina Jolie
Angelina Jolie has undergone a preventive double mastectomy in order to cut her risk of developing breast cancer.
The actress wrote in a New York Times op-ed piece that she had the BRCA1 mutation, a genetic defect.
According to the National Cancer Institute, a woman with a BRCA1 or BRCA2 status is 5 times more likely to develop breast cancer than a woman without.
Doctors told Jolie that she had an 87% risk of breast cancer and a 50% risk of ovarian cancer.
She started procedures on February 2, 2013, and finished with the last phase, reconstructive surgery, on April 27. According to Jolie, her breast cancer risk has been cut to 5%.
Jolie also intends to undergo a oophorectomy, or a surgery to remove her ovaries, in order to reduce her risk of developing ovarian cancer, the cancer her mother passed away from.
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