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Angelina Jolie’s Aunt Passes Away Of Breast Cancer

Kathy Zerbib |
May 29, 2013 | 9:03 p.m. PDT

Film Editor

Angelina Jolie recently underwent a double mastectomy to avoid succumbing to cancer (Gage Skidmore/Wikimedia Commons).
Angelina Jolie recently underwent a double mastectomy to avoid succumbing to cancer (Gage Skidmore/Wikimedia Commons).
Debbie Martin, younger sister to Angelina Jolie’s late mother, has died of breast cancer at 61. Jolie recently underwent a double mastectomy procedure to prevent herself from developing breast and ovarian cancer (the latter being the disease that killed her own mother, Marcheline Bertrand, at 56).

Approximately two weeks ago, Jolie revealed she had surgery to lessen her chances of developing the deadly disorder. She is also preparing to undergo another surgery in which the actress will have her ovaries removed.

Ron Martin, wife to Jolie’s late aunt, revealed that Martin was a carrier of the same defective BRCA1 gene that Jolie has. However, Martin was unaware until she was already diagnosed with cancer in 2004. 

“Had we known, we certainly would have done exactly what Angelina did,” her husband told Associated Press.

Though it was too late to undergo a double mastectomy like Jolie did, Martin had her ovaries removed in the hopes of preventing the disease from coming back.

Jolie’s decision to subject herself to multiple surgeries has been deemed heroic by the public and press. The actress hopes to fight her high chances of cancer and is receiving immense support for using her six children as motivation.

“I can tell my children that they don’t need to fear they will lose me to breast cancer,” Jolie told the New York Times.

Reach Film Editor Kathy Zerbib here; Follow her on Twitter here.



 

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