Actress Angelina Jolie said that she’d undergone preventative surgery to remove her ovaries and fallopian tubes, two years after she stirred up debate on women’s health by getting a preventative double mastectomy, reports Time.com.
Jolie wrote about her experience this Tuesday in The New York Times, saying of her decision to remove her ovaries: “I had been planning this for some time. It is a less complex surgery than the mastectomy, but its effects are more severe. It puts a woman into forced menopause. So I was readying myself physically and emotionally, discussing options with doctors, researching alternative medicine, and mapping my hormones for estrogen or progesterone replacement.”
The actress carries a mutation in the BRAC1 gene that gave her a 50% risk of developing ovarian cancer.
“It is not easy to make these decisions,” she said. “But it is possible to take control and tackle head-on any health issue.”
The procedure forces a woman into menopause and Jolie will now take hormone replacements.
Jolie also made it clear that while the extreme surgery was right for her, it may not be right for every woman: “I did not do this solely because I carry the BRCA1 gene mutation, and I want other women to hear this. A positive BRCA test does not mean a leap to surgery. I have spoken to many doctors, surgeons and naturopaths. There are other options…The most important thing is to learn about the options and choose what is right for you personally.”
The actress admitted that she was now in for some changes, as the surgery means she will now be in menopause. “Regardless of the hormone replacements I’m taking, I am now in menopause,” she said. “I will not be able to have any more children, and I expect some physical changes.”
