Brad Pitt’s family is “very proud” of Angelina Jolie for opening up about her double mastectomy. The 49-year-old World War Z star’s mother Jane Pitt admits she loves the 37-year-old Oscar-winning actress “dearly” and is happy that she made the drastic decision to have both her breasts removed after she was identified as carrying the BRCA1 cancer gene, which gave her an 87% chance of developing breast cancer and a 50% risk of ovarian cancer, so she can see her six children grow up.
Jane, who was previously said to be very close to Brad’s ex-wife Jennifer Aniston, said in a statement to People.com: “We’re so very proud of Angie, this means so much to our family especially our grandchildren. We love her dearly.” Angelina’s brother James Haven also voiced his support about her decision to undergo the procedure largely because of the death of their 56-year-old mother Marcheline Bertrand from ovarian cancer in 2007. He said: “My sister like our mother always put her children first. I am so grateful to be her brother.”
Brad praised his fiancée, with whom he has 6 children, Maddox, 11, Pax, 9, Zahara, 8, Shiloh, 6, and 4-year-old twins Knox and Vivienne, as “heroic” for making the decision to have her breasts removed and reconstructed. He said: “Having witnessed this decision first hand, I find Angie’s choice, as well as so many others like her, absolutely heroic. I thank our medical team for their care and focus. All I want for is for her to have a long and healthy life, with myself and our children. This is a happy day for our family.”
Angelina now only has a 5% chance of developing breast cancer and she admitted her children were a big motivation for her to have the surgery because she wants to see them all grow up.
