This morning in an op-ed published in the New York Times, Angelina Jolie revealed that she had her ovaries and fallopian tubes removed after doctors detected possible signs of cancer in recent bloodwork.

Two weeks ago, Jolie recieved a call from her doctor informing her that a recent blood test showed early signs of cancer, People reported. After five agonizing days Jolie finally learned that the tumor which had grown on one of her ovaries was not cancerous. But still, the actress was not taking any chances. Jolie carries the BRCA1 gene mutation which puts her at an increased risk for breast and ovarian cancer. She has already lost her mother, aunt, and grandmother to cancer and underwent a double mastectomy two years ago to help reduce her risk of also developing the disease.

“To my relief, I still had the option of removing my ovaries and fallopian tubes and I chose to do it," Jolie wrote in her New York Times op-ed this morning.

Jolie’s genetic mutation put her at an estimated 87 percent risk of breast cancer and a 50 percent risk of ovarian cancer. According to The National Cancer Institute, the gene mutation is rare and most commonly found in Ashkenazi Jewish women and women of Norwegian, Dutch, and Icelandic origin.

Jolie underwent a “laparoscopic bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy” to remove her ovaries and fallopian tubes, but chose to keep her uterus seeing as she had no history of uterine cancer in her family. The operation caused the 39-year-old to enter early menopause.

Jolie wrote that she is remaining at ease “not because I am strong but because this is a part of life. It is nothing to be feared."