(
MyFoxBoston.com) -- Angelina Jolie recently had surgery to remove her ovaries and fallopian tubes after a cancer scare, the actress revealed in a New York Times op-ed Tuesday.
Jolie, 39, said she has "a mutation in the BRCA1 gene," which gives her an 87 percent risk of breast cancer and a 50 percent risk of ovarian cancer.
"It is not easy to make these decisions," wrote Jolie, who had a double mastectomy two years ago. "But it is possible to take control and tackle head-on any health issue."
The surgery has forced Jolie into menopause.
"It is not possible to remove all risk, and the fact is I remain prone to cancer," she wrote. "I will look for natural ways to strengthen my immune system. I feel feminine and grounded in the choices I am making for myself and my family. I know my children will never have to say, 'Mom died of ovarian cancer.'"
