Cutting to the chase
ANGELINA JOLIE (below, with husba nd Brad Pitt ) made a huge impression this week when she went public with her difficult decision to remove her ovaries and fallopian tubes in a bid to ward off cancer. It was Jolie’s second preventive surgery — she had her breasts removed three years ago — after learning that she was genetically predisposed to come down with the disease.
KLG: I think she’s very smart, and I love that she said, “I know my children will never have to say, ‘Mom died of ovarian cancer.’” When you can actually prevent something by getting rid of it and it’ll never happen, why wouldn’t you? So she’s going to go into early menopause — you survive menopause.
HK: I think she did make a decision that worked for her. She watched her mother die at 49, she has six children, I think you have a 50% chance of getting cancer if you have that gene.
KLG: The odds aren’t good, and it’s tough.
HK: I think she’s done a smart thing, but it’s not a one-size-fits all solution. It’s also important how she acknowledges that she could get a different kind of cancer, and taking this action doesn’t mean that you’re “OK.” But I bet she can rest her head on the pillow and sleep at night because, like Kath said, her kids will know she will not ever die of ovarian cancer.
KLG: She’s lost her ovaries and her fallopian tubes, but she hasn’t lost her sense of humor. A nd that’s what gets you through meno pause.
HK: I love that she told her stor y on her terms, in a New York Times op-ed. By doing it there, she instantly moved it from gossip to the serious nature of what it was.
KLG: It takes the narrative out of the wrong hands.
HK: And she controlled all the details so she doesn’t have to be asked about it everywhere. A brilliant move.