Angelina Jolie said Tuesday that she underwent preventative surgery to remove her ovaries and fallopian tubes, two years after she sparked a debate on women’s health by getting a preventative double mastectomy.
Writing in the New York Times, the Hollywood actress and U.N. envoy said her decision, made because she carries a mutation in the BRCA1 gene that gave her a 50% risk of developing ovarian cancer, was not an easy one.
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“It is not easy to make these decisions,” she said. “But it is possible to take control and tackle head-on any health issue.”
The procedure forces a woman into menopause and Jolie will now take hormone replacements.
Jolie, 39, who wrote about her decision to have a double mastectomy after learning she had the gene mutation two years ago, said she wants to help provide information to women going through similar experiences.
“You can seek advice, learn about the options and make choices that are right for you,” she said.
Read next: Angelina Jolie: The World Must Do More for Syrian and Iraqi Refugees
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