Angelina Jolie revealed Tuesday that she has undergone a preventive double mastectomy because she had a very high risk of breast cancer.
The 37-year-old American actress wrote in an opinion piece entitled "My Medical Choice" in The New York Times that she had chosen the procedure because she carries a faulty gene that increases her risk of both breast and ovarian cancer.
Jolie, one of Hollywood's best-known faces and the partner of actor Brad Pitt, said that because of this gene, known as BRCA1, her doctors estimated she had an 87 percent risk of breast cancer and 50 percent risk of ovarian cancer. Her mother died of cancer at the age of 56, she said.
"Once I knew that this was my reality, I decided to be proactive and to minimize the risk as much I could. I made a decision to have a preventive double mastectomy," she wrote.
"I started with the breasts, as my risk of breast cancer is higher than my risk of ovarian cancer, and the surgery is more complex," Jolie wrote.
She said that on April 27 she completed the three months of medical procedures that the mastectomies involved.
Jolie said her chances of developing breast cancer are now down to five percent.
Jolie and Pitt have three adopted and three biological children.
"I can tell my children they don't need to fear they will lose me to breast cancer," Jolie said.
据法新社报道，著名影星安吉丽娜-朱莉本周二自曝已接受预防性双侧乳腺切除术，因为她本人罹患乳腺癌的风险极高。
37岁的美国女星安吉丽娜·茱莉在《纽约时报》上发表了《我的医疗选择》一文，称自己有基因缺陷，患上乳腺癌及卵巢癌的风险较普通人高，因此选择进行这一手术。
朱莉是好莱坞当红女星，伴侣皮特同样赫赫有名。她说由于自己携带有BRCA1基因，医生估计她患上乳腺癌的风险高达87%，患上卵巢癌的风险高达50%。她的母亲在56岁时死于癌症。
她写道：“我一知道这就是我必须面对的现实，就决定积极应对，把风险尽可能降到最低。我决定接受预防性双侧乳腺切除术。我要先解决乳腺的问题，因为我患上乳腺癌的风险比卵巢癌要高，而且这个手术更复杂。”
她说，整个切除手术的医疗程序历时三个月，到4月27日完成。
朱莉说切除术后，她患上乳腺癌的风险已降至5%。朱莉和皮特育有三名子女，此外还收养了三名子女。她说：“我可以告诉我的孩子们，他们不用再担心妈妈因为乳腺癌离开他们了。”