Weeks after Angelina Jolie revealed she had a double mastectomy to protect herself from a family history of breast cancer, her aunt has died of the disease.
Debbie Martin, 61, died yesterday morning in a hospital in Escondido, Calif., after a long battle with breast cancer. She was the sister of Jolie’s mother, actress Marcheline Bertrand, who died of ovarian cancer at age 56 in 2007.
Jolie revealed on May 14 that she had undergone the preventive surgery after learning she carries the “faulty” BRCA1 gene that puts her at a high risk for breast and ovarian cancer.
Martin also had the gene, but learned of it only after her 2004 cancer diagnosis.
“Had we known, we certainly would have done exactly what Angelina did,” Martin’s husband Ron said.
As Debbie Martin became weaker over the past several months, Jolie did her best to be supportive, according to Ron Martin.
“Angelina has been sending her wishes,” he told People magazine. “She and my wife texted each other. It was difficult for my wife, during the last few months, to communicate.”
Like Jolie, Debbie Martin also had her ovaries removed preventively because she was also at very high genetic risk for ovarian cancer, according to Ron Martin.
Jolie’s actions have sparked a broad discussion about genetic testing and pre-emptive surgery.
With Post Wire Services