Angelina Jolie Cancer Risk: Ovaries & Fallopian Tubes Surgery Due to Early Cancer

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Angelina Jolie revealed for the second time to NewYork Times on Tuesday that she has underwent a surgery to remove her ovaries and fallopian tubes to reduce the risk of cancer.

Jolie elaborated that she decided to remove her ovaries and fallopian tubes following a blood test indicating that she could be in the early stages of ovarian cancer. Though the follow-up tests suggested that it could be a false-alarm she decided to proceed with the surgery as a precautionary measure to reduce cancer risks, according to Science Now.

The actress added that she received a call from her doctor a week before her surgery saying that "There are a number of inflammatory markers that are elevated, and taken together they could be a sign of early cancer." She also noted on New York Times that the doctor advised her to meet her surgeon as soon as possible to have a check-up of her ovaries. The PET/CT didn't show any signs of cancer and the tumour test also showed negative results. She added though that she couldn't hug her children to share her happiness because of the radioactive tracers in her body.

Jolie has had a preventive double mastectomy two years ago after a blood test revealing that she carried BRAC1gene, a mutated form of BRAC gene that all healthy women carried. BRAC1 gene posed 87 percent estimated risk of breast cancer and 50 percent risk of ovarian cancer, explained Jolie. She also noted that she lost her mom, aunt and grandmother to the deadly disease. Notably, Jolie cannot bear children anymore as she has had her reproductive organs removed.

It is nice of Jolie to have come out clean in public to create awareness among women. Dr. Richard Wender, chief cancer control officer at the American Cancer Society, said, "I think Angelina Jolie has been a very responsible communicator, I respect her decision to share her health decisions and her health journey", according to Science Now.

Jolie explained that she is not suggesting that one should go for surgery if BRAC results are found positive, but it is important to learn about all the available treatment options and choose the most applicable one, reported the Science Now.

Dr. Kala Visvanathan, an oncologist with Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, said that "We don't want to create anxiety or panic among women who either don't have the BCRA mutation, or do have it and are very young." She also added that "We don't want women to mistakenly believe they need to do this right away."