Angelina Jolie‘s preemptive war on cancer isn’t over.
The stunning “Salt” actress — who single-handedly sparked a national dialogue Tuesday with the shocking announcement of her double mastectomy — is planning another surgery, this one to remove her ovaries, People magazine reported.
Her mother died of ovarian cancer at 56, and Jolie carries the “faulty” BRCA gene that gives her a 50% chance of also contracting the disease.
Experts say such carriers generally should get their ovaries removed as soon as they finish having kids or by age 40.
It’s not clear when Jolie, 37, plans to have the procedure, but there’s no obvious medical reason she has to wait following her Feb. 16 mastectomy and April 27 breast reconstruction, doctors told the Daily News.
“She could get (the surgery) tomorrow. It’s a minimally invasive, outpatient procedure with minimal recovery time,” said Dr. Sharyn Lewin, a gynecological oncologist at New York-Presbyterian Hospital/Columbia University Medical Center.
“I don’t know the details of her case, but maybe she wanted to keep her ovaries in a little longer for hormonal benefits or potentially to have more children,” Lewin said.
For someone Jolie’s age, the procedure causes “surgical menopause,” which can lead to early onset of hot flashes and bone loss.
This can be treated with hormone replacement therapy, and experts said Jolie is a good candidate because her double mastectomy would protect her from the breast cancer risk associated with the low-dose pills.
“There’s no magic age. You have to balance the risk of early menopause with the benefits (of removal),” said Dr. Stephanie Blank at NYU Langone Medical Center. “It’s a difficult decision, but preventive surgery can be much better than needing chemotherapy.”
Dr. Olufunmilayo Olopade at the University of Chicago advises BRCA carriers to get their ovaries out by age 35 if possible because ovarian cancer lacks a good early screening test.
“A lot of women feel more attached to their ovaries than their breasts, but this is a lifesaving procedure,” she said. “By the time most women find ovarian cancer, it’s usually in the advanced stages.”
Done laparoscopically, the surgery includes three tiny incisions — one in the belly button and one on each side of the lower abdomen, Blank said.
Jolie and her partner, Brad Pitt, have six children, three biological and three adopted.
Speaking to USA Today, Pitt called the experience of Jolie’s double mastectomy “an emotional and beautifully inspiring few months.”
“It’s such a wonderful relief to come through this and not have the specter (of breast cancer) hanging over our heads,” he said.
ndillon@nydailynews.com
