It was a very emotional weekend for Angelina Jolie, after her aunt, Debbie Martin, passed away after a long battle with breast cancer. The news came two weeks after Jolie announced that she had undergone a double mastectomy after learning she carried the BRCA1 gene, the same as her mother and aunt.
Martin, 61, was the youngest sister of Jolie's mother, Marcheline Bertrand, who died of ovarian cancer at age 56 in 2007.
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Ron Martin, Debbie's husband told E! News the devastating news, and emphasized that Angelina had been very attentive to her aunt. "Angelina has been in touch throughout the week and her brother Jamie has been with us, giving his support day by day. They both loved Debbie very much and although Angie is not able to come right now she has sent her love and support which was very nice."
He also praised Jolie's decision to go under the knife to reduce her risk of breast cancer. "We have seen Angelina a number of times since Debbie was diagnosed with breast cancer and Debbie and I were both very proud of her recent decision to have the double mastectomy and to do everything she can to keep her family from having to go through what we've been through." He also added, "Because of the BRCA gene in the maternal side of the family, Angelina did the smartest thing on earth. It takes a lot of courage to have your breasts removed."
Angelina Jolie announced on May 14 that she had a genetic mutation of the BRCA1 gene, and she had to make a decision to save her life before it was too late. "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."
Jolie still has a 50 percent chance of getting ovarian cancer, so now that she's fully recovered after the double mastectomy, she's ready to get her ovaries removed, a procedure called oophorectomy.
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