Angelina Jolie ‘agreed’ to wait until ‘appropriate time’ for second surgery
ANGELINA Jolie had been planning to have her ovaries removed for two years.
The 39-year- old actress underwent a double mastectomy in 2013 after discovering she carries the mutated BRCA1 gene, which meant she had an 87 per cent chance of contracting breast cancer and a 50 per cent chance of ovarian cancer, but she and oncologist Dr. Kristin Funk — who performed her mastectomy but not the laparoscopic bilateral salpingooophorectomy she had last week — agreed to wait until the “appropriate time” before she underwent the second preventative procedure.
And it was agreed Jolie would have both ovaries and her fallopian tubes removed last week after recent tests revealed markers she could be in the early stages of the disease.
Dr Funk, from the Pink Lotus Breast Centre in California, told ‘ Entertainment Tonight’: “We had strategised about a way to manage the ovaries with surveillance until she felt it was appropriate in her life to remove them.”
Dr Funk believes the openness of the ‘ Tomb Raider’ star — whose mother, grandmother and aunt died of cancer — will encourage other celebrities to be open about genetic risk and cancer prevention.
Following Kelly Osbourne’s revelation that she too carried the BRCA1 gene, Dr Funk said: “I think more celebrities and well-known women might fi nd the coming out less daunting not that she has taken away the initial shock and stigma with this revelation. I think you’ll fi nd more celebrities coming out about it. Hopefully they’ll be motivated to take away the stigma, fear and lack of education.”
The brunette beauty — who is currently going through the menopause — shared her decision to undergo the surgery in an article in the New York Times newspaper titled ‘Angelina Jolie Pitt: Diary of a Surgery’ and revealed she was feeling “feminine and grounded” following the invasive operation. — BANG Showbiz