Angelina Jolie Has Ovaries, Fallopian Tubes Removed

Actress Angelina Jolie has revealed she has undergone surgery to remove her ovaries and fallopian tubes to avoid getting cancer.

The star, who is currently 39, says that her mother Marcheline Bertrand died when she was 49 and wanted to take the action now.

 Her operation now puts her into forced menopause.

Mum-of-six Angelina says that she had been planning the preventative surgery for a while but two weeks ago she was told by her doctor that there were a "number of inflammatory markers that are elevated."

This, he said could be a sign of early cancer.

After calling husband Brad Pitt, who was in France at the time she got the diagnosis, she underwent the procedure, a laparoscopic bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy.

A small benign tumor on one ovary, but no signs of cancer in any of the tissues.


Angelina says she took the heart-wrenching decision so she "an see her grandchildren grow up."

Writing in the New York Times magazine, Angelina wrote: "Two weeks ago I got a call from my doctor with blood-test results.

“Your CA-125 is normal,” he said. I breathed a sigh of relief. That test measures the amount of the protein CA-125 in the blood, and is used to monitor ovarian cancer. I have it every year because of my family history.

"But that wasn’t all. He went on. “There are a number of inflammatory markers that are elevated, and taken together they could be a sign of early cancer.” I took a pause. “CA-125 has a 50 to 75 percent chance of missing ovarian cancer at early stages,” he said.

"He wanted me to see the surgeon immediately to check my ovaries.

 Angelina now says she is in forced menopause, aged just 39, and she won't be able to have anymore children.

I feel feminine, and grounded in the choices I am making for myself and my family. I know my children will never have to say, “Mom died of ovarian cancer.”