Angelina Jolie made rare comment about double mastectomy before sharing scars for first time

Angelina Jolie spoke out about how she doesn't regret getting a double mastectomy, having gone in for the surgery in 2013.

Doctors had told her she had an 87 percent risk of developing breast cancer and a 50 percent chance of ovarian cancer, so she decided to reduce her risk by going through with the procedure.

Speaking to Hello, Jolie explained that she decided to get the double mastectomy after the deaths of her mother and grandmother, with her mum Marcheline Bertrand dying at 56 after being diagnosed with ovarian and breast cancer.

She said: "I did choose to have that because I lost my mother and my grandmother very young.

"I have the BRCA gene, so I chose to have a double mastectomy a decade ago. And then I’ve also had my ovaries removed, because that’s what took my mother."

Everyone has BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes which can protect the body from cancer, but according to Macmillan, a variant or mutation in a gene can cause it to stop working properly and in this case reduces the protection, thus increasing a person's risk of developing certain cancers.

The highest risk for those with a variant in their BRCA genes is for women to develop breast cancer, and the variant genes have a 50 percent chance to be passed down from parent to child.

Jolie said she didn't 'regret' getting a double mastectomy but she wouldn't judge someone for making a different choice to her.

"Those are my choices. I don’t say everybody should do it that way, but it’s important to have the choice," she said of her decision.

She recently revealed the scars from the double mastectomy to Time, in an interview which will be released later this week (18 December) as she spoke about her new film Couture, where she plays a woman diagnosed with breast cancer.

During the interview, Jolie was asked about wearing her mother's jewellery while filming and said that she rarely wears it since 'it contains her ashes' and she doesn't want to lose them.

Speaking on the decision to reveal her scars she said: "I share these scars with many women I love. And I'm always moved when I see other women share theirs.

"I wanted to join them, knowing that TIME France would be sharing information about breast health, prevention, and knowledge about breast cancer."

Jolie also called for more BRCA screening, saying that when she first spoke about her double mastectomy it was 'to encourage informed choices'.

She said: "Healthcare decisions must be personal, and women must have the information and support they need to make those choices. Access to screening and care should not depend on financial resources or where someone lives."