“The decision to have a mastectomy was not easy. But it is one I am very happy that I made,” Jolie, 37, wrote in an op-ed in the New York Times. “I can tell my children that they don’t need to fear they will lose me to breast cancer”.
Her mother, the actress Marcheline Bertrand, succumbed to ovarian cancer in January 2007. Mother and daughter were close, and Jolie has previously admitted that she struggled to cope with the loss.
“She held out long enough to meet the first of her grandchildren and to hold them in her arms,” said Jolie. “But my other children will never have the chance to know her and experience how loving and gracious she was.
“We often speak of ‘Mommy’s mommy,’ and I find myself trying to explain the illness that took her away from us”.
On learning of the odds she faced, Jolie said that she “decided to be proactive and to minimize the risk as much I could”.The actress, who kept a demanding international work schedule between her surgeries, said she had chosen to speak publicly about her ordeal “because I hope that other women can benefit from my experience”.
Her decision was hailed as "heroic" by her partner, the actor Brad Pitt.
Coming from a woman whose industry demands glamorous appearances and who is frequently voted one of the world’s most beautiful people, her remarks were also welcomed by other breast cancer sufferers, medics and women’s groups.
“I choose not to keep my story private because there are many women who do not know that they might be living under the shadow of cancer,” Jolie wrote.
“It is my hope that they, too, will be able to get gene tested, and that if they have a high risk they, too, will know that they have strong options.”
She paid tribute to Pitt, her “loving and supportive” partner, for being at her side for “every minute” of her surgery at the Pink Lotus Breast Centre in southern California.Pitt, with whom she has three biological and three adopted children, said: “Having witnessed this decision firsthand, I find Angie’s choice, as well as so many others like her, absolutely heroic.
"I thank our medical team for their care and focus,” he told The Evening Standard. “All I want for is for her to have a long and healthy life, with myself and our children. This is a happy day for our family.”
Reassuring other women in her position that “I do not feel any less of a woman,” Jolie wrote: “I feel empowered that I made a strong choice that in no way diminishes my femininity.”Wendy Watson, who founded Britain’s National Hereditary Breast Cancer Helpline, said that Jolie's warning to other women about the condition was “the highest profile you can get,” and that it took a “certain amount of courage” to discuss a mastectomy publicly.
The actress Christina Applegate has said she suffered a “total emotional collapse” after undergoing a double mastectomy to tackle breast cancer in 2008. Olivia Newton-John, who went through the procedure in 1993, has said it filled her with “complete and utter dread”.
Angelina Jolie with William Hague during a visit to the Nzolo Internally Displaced Persons camp, north of Goma, Democratic Republic of Congo (EPA)
Jolie was also praised by William Hague, the Foreign Secretary, with whom she travelled to Congo between her operations in order to energetically campaign against sexual violence in refugee camps. She also appeared at the G8 summit in London last month to discuss the issue.
“She is a courageous lady and a very professional lady,” said Mr Hague today. “She gave no sign that she was undergoing such treatment and I think she's a very brave lady.” He predicted that her decision to speak publicly “will be an inspiration to many”.
This morning Zoraida Sambolin, a 47-year-old presenter on CNN, was prompted by Jolie's article to disclose live on-air that she was suffering from breast cancer and was to receive a double mastectomy.
Jolie won a Best Supporting Actress Oscar for Girl, Interrupted in 1999. She said that she had discovered after taking a $3,000 blood test that she had a defective BRCA1 gene, which leaves women with an average 65 per cent risk of developing cancer.
The actress went through three months of surgery concluding at the end of last month. She first underwent a painful procedure known as “nipple delay”, in an effort to save her nipples, before having major surgery to remove breast tissue in mid-February.
Nine weeks later, she received breast implants, and was informed that her risk of developing cancer had fallen to five per cent.
Women's Health
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