Angelina Jolie Mastectomy: Actress “Couldn’t Keep Surgery a Secret” Says Surgeon [VIDEO]
Three months after actress Angelina Jolie made public her double mastectomy procedure, surgeon Kristi Funk reveals that the she knew the actress would make the preventative measure public.
Dr. Funk finally revealed her thoughts on Jolie's double mastectomy procedure and her advocacy to raise breast cancer awareness in the September issue of Los Angeles Magazine.
"She knew always that in her philanthropic core she couldn't keep this a secret and be who she is. She always knew," Funk told the magazine. "When someone who is arguably the most beautiful woman in the world removes the part of her body that is symbolic of femininity and sexuality, you have to say, 'Why would she do that?"'
Funk is also Sheryl Crow's doctor who treated the musician's breast cancer.
"I commend Angelina Jolie for her courage and thoughtfulness in sharing her story today regarding her mastectomy. So brave!" Crow said in a report by Hello Magazine.
Jolie underwent a 3-month long double mastectomy procedure to lessen her chances of developing breast cancer. Accordig to reports, the actress was confirmed to have a faulty or mutated BRCA1 gene which puts her at a greater risk of developing breast cancer and ovarian cancer. The gene apparently runs in their family, and she has lost both her mother, Marcheline Bertrand, and grandmother Lois to ovarian cancer, says the Daily Mail. Just this year, her aunt Debbie also died of breast cancer.
In an op-ed piece written by the actress herself in the New York Times entitled "My Medical Choice" and published on May 14, she said that according to her doctors she had an 81 percent risk of developing breast cancer and a 50 percent risk of developing ovarian cancer.
"I wanted to write this to tell other women that the decision to have a mastectomy was not easy. But it is one I am very happy that I made. My chances of developing breast cancer have dropped from 87 percent to under 5 percent. I can tell my children that they don't need to fear they will lose me to breast cancer," says Jolie in the article.
Jolie reportedly has plans of having her ovaries removed in order to reduce her risk of developing ovarian cancer. Partner Brad Pitt has also sent an official statement to The Standard regarding the procedure.
"Having witnessed this decision firsthand, I find Angie's choice, as well as so many others like her, absolutely heroic. I thank our medical team for their care and focus. All I want for is for her to have a long and healthy life, with myself and our children. This is a happy day for our family," Pitt said.