Alberta cancer society fields increased calls after Angelina Jolie surgery announcement
Posted Mar 25, 2015 8:02 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
They may not have the Hollywood lifestyle, but it’s estimated that nearly 10,000 Albertans have at least one thing in common with actress Angelina Jolie.
A spokesperson for the Hereditary Breast and Ovarian Cancer Society says one in 400 people have the same gene that moved the film star to undergo another preventative surgery.
Denise Okrainetz spoke to City News and said, since Jolie’s announcement on Tuesday, the society is fielding a lot of calls about the benefits of removing ovaries and fallopian tubes.
“It’s to save your life,” Okrainetz said. “It’s to ensure that you don’t get ovarian cancer. It reduces your chances slightly of getting breast cancer as well, when you have your ovaries removed.”
Okrainetz said she encourages Albertan women to phone the society at 1-780-488-4262 for more information or contact a doctor if they have questions.
Will Jolie’s surgery to prevent ovarian cancer inspire others?
