‘Angelina-effect’ increases women's awareness of hereditary cancers

The “Angelina effect” has seen an increase in awareness among women of the need to be tested for hereditary breast cancer.

Angelina Jolie, the Hollywood star and mother of six who is married to actor Brad Pitt, decided to have surgery to reduce her chances of breast cancer.

She lost her mother to breast cancer and later discovered that she carried a mutation in the BRCA1 gene, which increases the risk of developing breast cancer and ovarian cancer.