Hours ago, Angelina Jolie disclosed on the New York Times that she had received a call from her doctor two weeks ago, telling her that a test result showed signs that could signify cancer.
“There are a number of inflammatory markers that are elevated, and taken together they could be a sign of early cancer,” her doctor told her. “CA-125 [a blood test] has a 50 to 75 percent chance of missing ovarian cancer at early stages.”
Jolie mentioned that she was told to see a surgeon immediately to have her ovaries checked.
“I went through what I imagine thousands of other women have felt,” she wrote. “I told myself to stay calm, to be strong, and that I had no reason to think I wouldn’t live to see my children grow up and to meet my grandchildren.”
She then called her husband, Brad Pitt, who was in France, and he quickly boarded the plane to be with her. Later that day, she visited a surgeon and five nerve-racking days later, the results of a scan and tumour test showed negative.
“I was full of happiness, although the radioactive tracer meant I couldn’t hug my children,” she wrote. “There was still a chance of early stage cancer, but that was minor compared with a full-blown tumor. To my relief, I still had the option of removing my ovaries and fallopian tubes and I chose to do it.”
Last week, she underwent a procedure called laparoscopic bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy to remove her fallopian tube and ovaries. The doctors found a small benign tumour on one ovary, but there was no sign of cancer.
Doctors encouraged the star to have preventative surgery as a precaution following the history of cancer in her female relatives, including her mother, who was diagnosed with ovarian cancer when she was 49.
Jolie is a carrier of the BRCA1 gene, which puts her at a high risk of breast and ovarian cancer. Two years ago, she revealed that she had breast removal surgery. Now, she is in menopause and will not be able to have any more children.
The mother of six continues, “I feel deeply for women for whom this moment comes very early in life, before they have had their children.”
“Their situation is far harder than mine. I inquired and found out that there are options for women to remove their fallopian tubes but keep their ovaries, and so retain the ability to bear children and not go into menopause. I hope they can be aware of that.”
What a brave and inspiring woman! Check out Jolie’s full post on the New York Times.
