James Haven, on Sister's Mastectomy: "She Makes a Difference in Our World"
- Details
- Published on Monday, 27 May 2013 17:39
- Written by E online
In times of crisis, family is everything.Which is why it's no surprise that Angelina Jolie's brother James Haven is speaking out exclusively to E! about his sister's decision to have a double mastectomy."There is no question Angelina makes a difference in our world by bringing awareness to so many causes," he tells E! in an exclusive statement. "Her compassion for humanity alone always makes me honored to call her my sister."In keeping with Jolie's legacy of service, James and Angelina are currently working on a film together called Court of Conscience. James is directing and Angelina is producing.The film is a huge priority for the siblings who want to make an impact on current laws about child advocacy and helping to change laws at a state and local level.Court of Conscience is clearly a labor of love for Haven, founder of the CoreCause Foundation, an organization whose sensibility clearly informs the film. "The fundamental belief of CoreCause is to focus on a preventative rather than recovery stand point. Most of the worlds crises are the effects of a 'core cause' that if addressed would solve the problem entirely."
 |
Billy Bob Thornton Straight-Faced After Huge Angelina FLUB
- Details
- Published on Monday, 27 May 2013 17:39
- Written by TMZ
Billy Bob Thornton should get an award for his reaction to his ex-wife Angelina Jolie undergoing a most likely lifesaving double mastectomy.Billy, who was married to Angelina from 2000 to 2003 ... said she "deserves absolutely the best in every way. She always has, she always will in my book."Watch the clip, Billy has more kind and totally appropriate words for Angie -- but it's impressive because the camera guy started out by asking ... "Have you talked to Angie since the double vasectomy?"An honest mistake, but still ... kudos to Billy.
 |
Jon Voight first heard of her double mastectomy online
- Details
- Published on Thursday, 16 May 2013 04:27
- Written by Independant
Angelina Jolie’s father Jon Voight revealed he first found out about his daughter’s double mastectomy by reading her article about the decision in the New York Times.Voight, who was reconciled with his daughter in 2011 after a ten-year feud, said he was “surprised as anyone and deeply moved by the way she’s handled this”.“My love and admiration for my daughter can’t be explained in words. I saw her two days ago with my son Jamie. We all got together for his birthday with her and Brad [Pitt]. But I didn’t know. It wasn’t obvious at all,” the veteran actor told the New York Daily News.Voight said he “absolutely” respected Jolie’s decision to keep him in the dark for three months, adding “I want the focus to be on the inspiration.”He said he spoke to his daughter after learning about the procedure but didn’t discuss the global reaction to her announcement. “She just explained to me and educated me on this stuff,” he said.Jolie revealed in an op-ed article entitled "My Medical Choice" that she decided to undergo a double mastectomy after a gene test revealed she had an 87 per cent chance of developing breast cancer, the disease that killed her mother.The actress said she had completed three months of medical procedures by the end of April, which she had so far managed to keep out of the public eye.Jolie's own mother died of breast cancer aged 56 and Jolie found that she herself had the 'faulty' BRCA1 gene, which increased her chances of getting the disease to 87 per cent, and of getting ovarian cancer to 50 per cent.
Pitt called her decision to undergo a double mastectomy “absolutely heroic”. He added: “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.”The 37-year-old Tomb Raider actress and humanitarian activist said the reason behind her decision was to reassure her children - of which she has three biological and three adopted - that the illness that took their grandmother would not do the same to her.In the article, she wrote: ”I can tell my children that they don’t need to fear they will lose me to breast cancer. It is reassuring that they see nothing that makes them uncomfortable.“They can see my small scars and that’s it. Everything else is just Mommy, the same as she always was.“She also thanked Pitt, describing him as ”so loving and supportive“.Following her surgery, which involved breast reconstruction with implants, the actress' chance of developing the cancer has dropped to under 5 per cent.She says her decision to write about her experience came from wanting to reassure other women that they ”have options“.”I choose not to keep my story private because there are many women who do not know that they might be living under the shadow of cancer,“ she said.
 |
Angelina Jolie double mastectomy: Brad Pitt reacts
- Details
- Published on Monday, 27 May 2013 17:38
- Written by LA Times
Angelina Jolie was "heroic" for undergoing a preventive double mastectomy, her fiance, Brad Pitt, said Tuesday after she wrote an op-ed piece revealing her decision and describing the mastectomy process, which began in February. "Having witnessed this decision firsthand, I find Angie’s choice, as well as so many others like her, absolutely heroic," he told the Weekly Standard in a statement, also thanking their medical team."All I want for is for her to have a long and healthy life, with myself and our children," he said. "This is a happy day for our family.”In not focusing on his wife alone, Pitt echoed Jolie's intent to support other women who find themselves in the position of making the same decision."I choose not to keep my story private," she wrote, "because there are many women who do not know that they might be living under the shadow of cancer. It is my hope that they, too, will be able to get gene tested, and that if they have a high risk they, too, will know that they have strong options." In Jolie's case, her "faulty" BRCA1 gene and history of a mother who died at age 56 of ovarian cancer made for quite a dark shadow.Jolie praised Pitt in her Tuesday New York Times op-ed, which went public late Monday night."I am fortunate to have a partner, Brad Pitt, who is so loving and supportive. So to anyone who has a wife or girlfriend going through this, know that you are a very important part of the transition. Brad was at the Pink Lotus Breast Center, where I was treated, for every minute of the surgeries. We managed to find moments to laugh together. We knew this was the right thing to do for our family and that it would bring us closer. And it has."Her three months of medical procedures wrapped up April 27. Also on Tuesday, the American Cancer Society released a statement of its own urging awareness and caution regarding testing and prophylactic surgery."This does not mean every woman needs a blood test to determine their genetic risk for breast and/or ovarian cancer. What it does mean is women should know their cancer family history and discuss it with their regular provider. If appropriate, they should be referred to and have the opportunity to discuss their risk and their options with a genetic specialist," said Dr. Otis W. Brawley, the organization's chief medical officer. Brawley noted that insurance plans created since the Affordable Care Act must cover testing and counseling, but not necessarily surgery."A woman with a mutation of known significance must consider her quantifiable risk in making the very personal decision to have her breasts and ovaries removed or pursuing other options, such as more extensive screening for breast and ovarian cancer. Experts recommend women proceed cautiously, and receive a second opinion before deciding to have this surgery."The American Cancer Society Board of Directors has stated that ‘only very strong clinical and/or pathologic indications warrant doing this type of preventive operation.’ Nonetheless, after careful consideration, this might be the right choice for some women."
 |
Angelina Jolie reveals she had preventive double mastectomy
- Details
- Published on Tuesday, 14 May 2013 10:46
- Written by Fox News
Angelina Jolie reveals she had preventive double mastectomy after discovering cancer gene.Angelina Jolie says she underwent a preventive double mastectomy earlier this year after learning she carries a gene that increases her risk of developing breast cancer and ovarian cancer.In a New York Times op-ed published late Monday, the 37-year-old Academy Award winner writes that after genetic testing she learned she carries the "faulty" BRCA1 gene. The risk of developing cancer due to the gene varies, but Jolie says doctors estimated she had an 87 percent risk of breast cancer and a 50 percent risk of ovarian cancer. Jolie, whose mother died from cancer, says she decided to have the preventive mastectomy to be "proactive" for the sake of her six children with her partner, Brad Pitt."My mother fought cancer for almost a decade and died at 56," Jolie writes. "She held out long enough to meet the first of her grandchildren and to hold them in her arms. But my other children will never have the chance to know her and experience how loving and gracious she was."She said she has kept the process private so far, but wrote about with hopes of helping other women."I wanted to write this to tell other women that the decision to have a mastectomy was not easy," she writes. "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."
She is anything but private in the details she provides, giving a step-by-step description of the procedures. She writes that between early February and late April she completed three months of surgical procedures to remove both breasts."My own process began on Feb. 2 with a procedure known as a `nipple delay,"' she writes, "which rules out disease in the breast ducts behind the nipple and draws extra blood flow to the area."She then describes the major surgery two weeks later where breast tissue was removed, saying it felt "like a scene out of a science-fiction film," then writes that nine weeks later she had a third surgery to reconstruct the breasts and receive implants."Many women have chosen preventive mastectomy since genetic screening for breast cancer was developed, but the move and public announcement is unprecedented from a star so young and widely known as Jolie.She briefly addresses the effects of the surgery on the idealized sexuality and iconic womanhood that have fueled her fame."I do not feel any less of a woman," Jolie writes. "I feel empowered that I made a strong choice that in no way diminishes my femininity."She also wrote that Brad Pitt, her partner of eight years, was at the Pink Lotus Breast Center in Southern California for "every minute of the surgeries."Jolie, daughter of Hollywood luminary Jon Voight, has appeared in dozens of films including 2010's "The Tourist" and "Salt," the "Tomb Raider" films, and 1999's "Girl, Interrupted," for which she won an Academy Award.But she has appeared more often in the news in recent years for her power coupling with Pitt and her charitable work with refugees as a United Nations ambassador.
 |
Share
