In 2013, actress Angelina Jolie wrote an op-ed where she revealed she’d undergone a double mastectomy. Although Jolie didn’t have breast cancer, a genetic test had revealed she carried a genetic mutation that her doctors said put her at an 87% risk of developing breast cancer in her lifetime. Jolie also had a family history of breast cancer, losing her mother, grandmother and aunt to the disease.
Jolie has a genetic mutation to one of her BRCA genes – specifically the BRCA1 gene. We all have BRCA genes, which function as tumour suppressors. These genes are essential for healthy cell survival and cancer prevention. They act to repair our DNA and fix errors that occur due to ageing or environmental exposures (such as tobacco or radiation).
