Angelina Jolie's Aunt Dies of Breast Cancer Following Star's Double Mastectomy
Angelina Jolie's aunt, Debbie Martin, died on May 26 after a battle with breast cancer at the age of 61.
Ron Martin, Jolie's uncle, confirmed the news of his wife's passing to E! News.
Debbie was the younger sister of Marcheline Bertrand, Angelina's mother, who died of ovarian cancer in 2007 at the age of 56. Her death came after it was revealed that she suffered a seizure and was taken to the hospital where she was placed on life support. Ron said that his famous niece had been in touch and that her brother, James Haven, was a source of daily support.
"They both loved Debbie very much and although Angie is not able to come right now she has sent her love and support which was very nice," Ron said.
Ron said that that the entire family rallied around his wife to offer support as the disease began to take its toll. Jon Voight, Jolie's father, visited with his former sister-in-law on May 19.
"We have seen Angelina a number of times since Debbie was diagnosed with breast cancer and Debbie and I were both very proud of her recent decision to have the double mastectomy and to do everything she can to keep her family from having to go through what we've been through," Ron said.
Bill Day, who dated Marcheline for 12 years until 1989, remained a close family friend. He described to The Mirror the agony that Debbie was in on May 25. Many of her loved ones expected that her death would be imminent.
"Debbie had chemotherapy and lost a lot of weight. She was really struggling," he said.
Relatives also said that Debbie was an unsung hero in Jolie's decision to have a double mastectomy earlier this year. Jolie discovered she carried the BRCA1 gene, which increased her risk of developing breast and ovarian cancer. She was told that she had an 87 percent chance of being inflicted with the former and 50 percent for the latter. The death of her mother weighed heavily on Jolie, as did the other deaths in her family because of cancer.
"Angelina was very close to Deb and she did everything she could do to help her. Deb was very supportive of Angelina's decision to have preventative surgery," a source said.
