How Brad Helped Angelina Through Her Cancer Scare 

Brad Pitt\'s Side of the Story: He \'Did Not Hit\' His Child as Plane Fight with Angelina Jolie \'Got Out of Hand,\' Says Source

Tulsa Officer Charged with Manslaughter in Shooting Death Captured on Video

Why Harry Connick Jr. Finally Changed His Mind about Hosting a TV Show

Read the Cover Story: Michael Strahan in His Own Words: My Kids Give Me Strength

Tim Kaine on Passing Muster with Bill Clinton: \'I Felt Like a Prospective Son-in-Law\'

Brad & Angelina Split After 12 Years: Why She Left

Presenting… Every Single Thing the Kardashians Have Said About Their Nipples

Turns 40: Jaclyn Smith Reflects on the \'Groundbreaking\' Series That Had a $20,000 Per Episode Wardrobe Budget

\'s First Ousted Player on the Night She Feared She Might \'Die at Any Moment\'

Tamron Hall: Global Citizen Festival Is \'the People\'s Revolution Against Extreme Poverty\'

How Canada-Bound Prince William and Princess Kate Stack Up Against the Glamorous Trudeaus

It\'s a Girl! Adam Levine and Behati Prinsloo Welcome Daughter Dusty Rose

How Brad Pitt Helped Angelina Jolie Through Her Cancer Crisis

She faced one of the most frightening challenges of her life. And he helped her through it.

Before Angelina Jolie Pitt filed for divorce from husband Brad Pitt, the 41-year-old actress said his strength and devotion helped her through two life-changing surgeries and cancer scares.

As Jolie\'s doctor Kristi Funk told PEOPLE, Pitt was by Jolie\'s side for every procedure in 2013 when she had preventive double mastectomy – a decision she came to after genetic tests showed she carried a mutated BRCA1 gene predisposing her to developing breast cancer.

He was there too after a 2015 ovarian cancer scare lead her to remove her ovaries and fallopian tubes. (Jolie\'s mother died of ovarian cancer in 2007 at age 56).

"I am fortunate to have a partner, Brad Pitt, who is so loving and supportive," she wrote in 2013. Brad was at the Pink Lotus Breast Center, where I was treated, for every minute of the surgeries. We managed to find moments to laugh together."

"We knew this was the right thing to do for our family and that it would bring us closer," she added. "And it has."

In her 2015 op-ed, she said she immediately turned to her husband for support after a doctor told her a blood test showed markers that could be a sign of early ovarian cancer. Pitt dropped everything and traveled to be there for Jolie.

"I called my husband in France, who was on a plane within hours," Jolie wrote. "The beautiful thing about such moments in life is that there is so much clarity. You know what you live for and what matters. It is polarizing, and it is peaceful."

Pitt was just as outspoken about his supportive for Jolie at the time. "Having witnessed this decision firsthand, I find Angie\'s choice, as well as many others like her, absolutely heroic," he said in a 2013 statement. "All I want is for her to have a long and healthy life, with myself and our children.

At home "Brad did everything he could to keep things secret and protect Angie," a family insider told PEOPLE.

Using early-morning appointments and rental cars to avoid discovery, "they really wanted Angie to be able to recover and rest before they shared the story. Brad was very attentive and sweet to Angie. He always dotes on her anyway."

Celebrating special occasions in a big way was a hallmark of their relationship – and one that helped them get through Jolie\'s health crisis.

FLASHBACK: Brad and Angelina at the 2012 Golden Globes

"Every event is cherished," Plan B exec Dede Gardner told PEOPLE. "Every birthday is cherished. The holidays are cherished. Events are made of every moment in the most positive way."

"This is an admirable person – a man with a deep love for his family," Pitt\'s friend and furniture-design partner Frank Pollaro told PEOPLE.

There were elaborate, custom gifts, too: Jolie commissioned a diamond pendant for Pitt engraved with a microscopic love message; Pitt designed a jeweled bracelet for Jolie for a Christmas present.

In the middle of her surgeries, they held a family gift exchange on Valentine\'s Day and went camping with the kids on Easter weekend for their annual Easter egg hunt.

"We\'ve been through so much," the actress told PEOPLE in 2014. As they raise their six children, "we\'ve gotten a lot closer, which I think naturally happens with raising a family together," she said. "You have history. ... You have this person who really knows you, and you know them so well. You\'re not lovers or boyfriend and girlfriend as much as you are a family."

Please enable JavaScript to view the comments powered by Disqus.

Michael Strahan\'s Musings on Fatherhood Will Make You Melt

WATCH AND SHOP: These Sneakers Are Just What Your Fall Wardrobe Is Missing

Priyanka Chopra, Plus Tom & Gisele, Prince William, Khloé Kardashian and More!

Welcome Dusty Rose! A Look Back at New Mom Behati Prinsloo\'s Pregnancy Pics

Which Stars Are Honest About Plastic Surgery?

Jillian Harris, Kourtney Kardashian and More of Hollywood\'s Most Extreme Moms

Hat Trick Hadid! Gigi Walks 3 Catwalks in 1 Day in Milan, Transforms into a Paper Doll for Moschino

Ben Higgins and Lauren Bushnell to Make Guest Appearance in New Scripted Series Starring Bella Thorne

Why Maksim Chmerkovskiy and Kirstie Alley Aren\'t Speaking

Chris Pratt Flashed Amy Poehler?! Hear His Take – And See Her Reaction

Thank you for signing up! Your request may take up to one week to be processed.