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Two years after Angelina Jolie announced her mastectomy in The New York Times, the actress returned to the paper's opinion column to reveal she's undergone more preventative surgery, removing her fallopian tubes and ovaries. Jolie describes how she discovered that she carried early signs of ovarian cancer (both her mother and grandmother died of the disease), explored "Eastern and Western" options, and the final decision to go through with the surgery. Upon hearing from her doctor that she had early signs of ovarian cancer, she says:
I went through what I imagine thousands of other women have felt. I told myself to stay calm, to be strong, and that I had no reason to think I wouldn't live to see my children grow up and to meet my grandchildren.
The actress again cited the fact that her experience could support women in the same position and spread awareness of treatment options as the reason for offering her story. Read her full piece here.