Hollywood Actress Angelina Jolie Attends A Foreign Office Briefing On Preventing Sexual Violence In Conflict. Photo: SKY
American actress Angelina Jolie has announced her decision to have a double mastectomy – cutting both of her breasts off, as a way of preventing cancer.
Jolie, 37, says doctors found a faulty gene which sharply increases the chance of her developing breast and ovarian cancer.
The Oscar-winner’s mother fought cancer for 10 years before her death.
‘My doctors estimated that I had an 87% risk of breast cancer and a 50% risk of ovarian cancer, although the risk is different in the case of each woman.
‘Only a fraction of breast cancers result from an inherited gene mutation. Those with a defect in BRCA1 have a 65% risk of getting it, on average.
‘Once I knew that this was my reality, I decided to be proactive and to minimise the risk as much I could. I made a decision to have a preventive double mastectomy.’
Jolie is in an eight-year relationship with Brad Pitt with whom she shares six children.
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