Action star Angelina Jolie has revealed today that she has undergone a preventative double mastectomy.
She did so because she discovered that she had inherited the BRCA1 gene that gave her an 87% chance of developing breast cancer. Though she hadn't been diagnosed as yet suffering the condition, she lost her mother at the age of 56 to the same condition and said she didn't want her children to feel she would die early as well. Aged 37, she has undergone the drastic procedure and nine weeks of reconstruction surgery in recent months with the full support of her family, including husband Brad Pitt. Though figues vary depending on the individual and other factors, the procedure is said to have lowered the chances of breast cancer occuring to as little as 5%.
She wrote a piece on her decision for the New York Times and said In a statement that...:
"...I feel empowered that I made a strong choice that in no way diminishes my femininity. 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."
Impact sends Jolie and family best wishes and hopes, as she does, that the news-story will shed light on the disease and the efforts being made to fight it and eventually eradicate it.
You can find out more about what you can do to support efforts to deal with the disease HERE...
