Celebrities Applaud Angelina Jolie For Encouraging Cancer Dialogue, Testing
LOS ANGELES (CBSLA.com) — Angelina Jolie's revelation she underwent a preventative double mastectomy after testing positive for the breast cancer gene is being met with a wave of support in Hollywood.
The 37-year-old actress, in an op-ed piece for the New York Times published Tuesday, wrote that she made the decision after doctors told her she had an 87 percent chance of developing breast cancer and a 50 percent risk of ovarian cancer because she carries the BRCA1 gene.
After having both breasts removed, the actress said she went back nine weeks later for reconstructive surgery. Jolie said her chance of getting breast cancer dropped to five percent after the procedure.
"I can tell my children that they don't need to fear that they'll lose me to breast cancer," she wrote.
Now fellow celebrities, many of them cancer survivors, are speaking out in support of her decision to go public, KCAL9's Suzanne Marques reports.
Kylie Minogue, who was successfully treated for breast cancer after being diagnosed with the disease in 2005, said that she felt inspired reading the actress' story.
"#angelinajolie thank you for sharing your story and helping women around the world #inspirational," 44-year-old Minogue tweeted.
Fifty-one-year-old singer Sheryl Crow, who successfully underwent surgery for breast cancer in 2006, also tweeted in support of the actress on Tuesday.
"I commend Angelina Jolie for her courage and thoughtfulness in sharing her story today regarding her mastectomy. So brave!" she wrote.
Crow underwent treatment for breast cancer at the same Beverly Hills facility that took care of Jolie, the Pink Lotus Breast Center. The singer has been open about her own battle with the disease, and in 2011 revealed that she has a benign brain tumor, discovered after she underwent an MRI.
She urged women to be vigilant with preventative testing.
"Ladies, please check out Angelina Jolie's story today, especially if you have breast cancer in your family history," Crow continued.
Cancer survivor Sharon Osbourne spoke about Jolie's story as she addressed viewers on The Talk.
Osbourne, 60, underwent surgery for colon cancer in 2002 and last year revealed she too had undergone a double mastectomy after doctors determined she carried the mutated BRCA gene. She also commended Jolie.
"I went through treatment with girls in their early twenties that had this," Osbourne said. "So for Angelina to come out and do this - she's so brave - and it's going to help so many women. And I think it makes her sexier than ever."
E! News anchor and breast cancer survivor Giuliana Rancic also added on Twitter: "We should be proud of her for sharing her incredibly personal story for the sole purpose of changing and even saving women's lives.
"In helping other women... you help your soul heal," the 38-year-old wrote.
RELATED STORIES:
Doctors Urge Women To Test For Breast Cancer Gene After Jolie's Mastectomy
Brad Pitt Calls Angelina Jolie's Decision To Undergo Double Mastectomy 'Absolutely Heroic'
Angelina Jolie Reveals She Had Preventative Double Mastectomy
