“I hope that other women can benefit from my experience” writes Angelina Jolie in a candid New York Times column published today.
The actress and director revealed that she recently chose to have a double mastectomy after doctors told her she had the breast cancer gene BRCA1, meaning Jolie has an (estimated) 87 percent risk of getting the disease.
She decided to be “proactive” and undergo a preventive double mastectomy, followed by breast reconstruction with implants. The procedures were completed just last month. One unique aspect of her surgery was the nipple delay technique, in which the nipple was staged to improve its viability prior to her more extensive surgery.
About her reconstruction, she writes:
“Nine weeks later, the final surgery is completed with the reconstruction of the breasts with an implant. There have been many advances in this procedure in the last few years, and the results can be beautiful.”
Photo by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office
