Transcript for Inside Angelina Jolie's Life-Changing Decision to Remove Ovaries
Not even two years have passed since Angelina Jolie elected to have a double mastectomy to reduce her chances of developing cancer. Now the 39 year old has made another drastic choice to protect her health. But she's cautioning other women about following suit. Here's Cecelia Vega. Reporter: A very private decision from one of Hollywood's most public people. Angelina Jolie revealing that a recent blood test detected what could be signs of early ovarian cancer. So she had her ovaries and fallopian tubes removed, what she calls the best option. She says she went through what thousands of other women have felt, I told myself to be strong, stay calm and I had no reason not to believe that I wouldn't see my children grow up and see my grand children. At 39 years old, Jolie says she couldn't risk it. When those kind of things happen in life, you just want to meet your grandkids. You don't think beyond that. You want to be around in 20, 30, 40 years. You want to be alive and healthy. Reporter: Jolie is one of the most beautiful women alive, the smoldering star of and Mr. And Mrs. Smith. This is her second stunning health admission. Nearly two years ago, Jolie underwent a preventative mastectomy after detecting brca 1. Women who carry the gene have a 65% risk of breast cancer and a 39% risk of ovarian cancer. That disease that killed her mother. She was completely full of love and kindness. She's taught me a lot about the importance of that, of just being, just, just every day kindness. And I think it's the most important thing about being a mom. Just letting the kids know how much they make you happy. Reporter: Of the 20,000 American women diagnosed each year with ovarian cancer, more than half will die from it. While we have a good screening test for breast cancer, we do not have a good screening test for ovarian cancer, and fre detected at later stages when the survival chances are not so good. Reporter: Jolie says she wants other women to hear this. The most important thing is to learn about the options and choose what is right for you personally. In 2013, her double mastectomy announcement caused what was called the Angelina effect, prompting more women than ever to get genetic testing for cancer, something that surprised the star. I didn't expect there to be so much support, and I was very moved. And most of all, I was stunned that the discussion broadened, and that doctors were telling me how it helped the issue, and more women were getting tested. Reporter: But some say there was another side to the Angelina effect. Women electing to have preventative surgery even if they don't need it. Anytime a world renowned celebrity uses their platform to bring awareness and education to a health issue, in my opinion is a win-win. The flip side is that this is a very emotionally-charged issue, and it's polarizing. People will say, I think that decision is extreme. Reporter: Less than 1% of the population carries the brca gene mutation that Angelina has. For those women, the choices are stark. You say it changed your entire life path. I realized I had an up to 50% chance of getting ovarian cancer and up to 87% chance of getting breast cancer. Reporter: Anna goreman learned she had the gene when she was just 28 years old. What was going through the back of your mind? Fear that I didn't want to get cancer. I didn't want to die. I didn't want to, I just didn't want to worry about it. And worry about getting cancer. Reporter: Goreman always knew she was at risk. Her aunt, her grandmother and father all died of cancer. You're armed with this information. You have to do something. I thought, I really need to do something about T I need to get married, have kids, have surgeries, make decisions, and I need to do everything quickly. Reporter: After giving birth to two daughters, Sadie and Twyla, she decided on the same preventive surgery Jolie had. Doctors removed her ovaries. She was 32. Fear won out and logic. I knew I had a high risk of getting ovarian cancer and if I got it I had a risk of dying. Reporter: She had a double mastectomy also. She is cancer free. Her two daughters are 10 and 8. Each have a 50/50 chance of inheriting the same cancer gene. It changes the game for many women. People are talking about it. They realize if somebody like her, who's this beautiful, famous actress can do this, then they can to. Reporter: Just like Anna did, Jolie will now go through early menopause, becoming an unlikely face for something that usually affects women much older. I will not be able to have anymore children and I expect some physical changes she writes, but I feel at ease with whatever will come. Surgical menopause can be more severe because it's crunched in over a period of a few days rather than a period of a few months to years. So it's like flipping a light switch. Reporter: Symptoms can include hot flashes, sweating, changes in hair and skin as well as an increased risk of osteoporosis and Parkinson's disease. But for many women those outweigh the deadly consequence of not taking any action. They've looked into a medical crystal ball. They've seen what their future or their medical destiny could have been. And they've taken aggressive steps to change that, and that gives them a real sense of empowerment. Reporter: When Jolie first got the news that she showed signs indicating the possibility of ovarian cancer, she said her famous husband was on a plane within hours, racing home from France to be by her side, as she waited on those tests to determine whether she did indeed have the disease that already killed three women in her family. Jolie says she lived in a haze, attending this soccer game three days ago while trying to stay calm and focussed. Today she is cancer free, writing it is not possible to remain free of all risk. I feel feminine and grounded in my choices. I know my children will never have to say "Mom died of ovarian cancer." It's connected me to so women. We talk about their wives or cancer in Jim. It's been a beautiful journey. Reporter: For "Nightline," I'm Cecelia Vega in Los Angeles. So what do you think about preventive surgery? Is the risk worth the side effects? Head to our Facebook page and let us know.
This transcript has been automatically generated and may not be 100% accurate.
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