Parenthood top of Angelina’s priorities

Actress Angelina Jolie has made the ultimate sacrifice for her family.

This 39-year-old woman had a double mastectomy two years ago and now she has had her ovaries and fallopian tubes removed in a bid to stay healthy and alive for her six children.

Angelina’s mother, grandmother and aunt all died of ovarian cancer and she has always known that she is at risk.

When her doctor phoned her last month to say her latest round of routine blood tests revealed markers which could indicate the early stages of cancer, Angelina made her decision in a heartbeat.

The removal of her ovaries was a small price to pay to stay healthy. It means putting up with an early menopause, but this beautiful and strong-minded woman values time with her children and her husband Brad Pitt more than anything else.

Writing in the New York Times about the shock of the news and her decision to go for the radical option of surgery because she “wants to live to see her children grow up and to meet her grandchildren”, women everywhere will understand the choice Angelina had to make.

Once you become a parent you belong not just to yourself but to the children who love you and need you.

Anyone who has lost their mum or dad early in life knows there is an emptiness and a gap which can never be filled. There is always a longing to share your experiences with them your first job, your wedding day, the birth of your children.

Angelina has written movingly about the loss of her beloved mum Micheline Bertrand and the effect it had on her life.

Her career as an actress is important. Her work as an envoy for the United Nations is important to her.

But it’s the life she has created with Brad and their six children which define the woman she turned out to be.

Shilo, 8, twins Knox and Vivienne, 6 and the three adopted children Maddox, 13, Pax, 11, and Zahara, 10, are at the heart of everything.

And, for their sake, Angelina will do her utmost to remain healthy and strong.

“I told myself to stay calm,” she said last week. “The beautiful thing about such moments in life is that there is so much clarity. You know what you live for and what matters.”

Angelina is wisely sharing her experiences to help other women be aware what’s happening to their bodies, to seek advice about their concerns and to take control of their health issues.

Good on her.

I wish Angelina all the luck in the world. She deserves it.