Star's revelation that she had breast removal surgery highlights preventative measures against deadly disease.

Actress Angelina Jolie's decision to go public about her double mastectomy has shone a spotlight on the issue of women at risk of cancer who have healthy breasts removed.

It is estimated that one in 300 to one in 500 women carry a breast cancer susceptibility gene mutation, known as BRCA1 or BRCA2.

Jolie announced on Tuesday she had the surgery after tests revealed she carried a genetic mutation that showed she had BRCA 1 and an 87 percent chance of developing breast cancer.
World Health Organisation (WHO) figures show breast cancer kills about 458,000 people each year.

Richard Francis, head of Research at the Breakthrough Breast Cancer charity in Britain, said that Jolie's announcement demonstrated the importance of educating women with the gene fault.
"For women like Angelina it's important that they are made fully aware of all the options that are available, including risk-reducing surgery and extra breast screening," Francis said.


Awareness raised
Breast Cancer Campaign chief executive Delyth Morgan said that the openness of UN charity worker Jolie, whose breast cancer chances have dropped to less than five percent after the surgery, in talking about her experience would raise awareness of the disease and its risk.

Judy Norsigian, executive director of the US-based non-profit organisation Our Bodies Ourselves, which focuses on health issues, told Al Jazeera that it was important to realise that less than half a percent of women would fall into the category testing positive for the breast cancer gene mutations.

Norsigian said that the tests might be appropriate for people who had two first-degree relatives with breast cancer, one of whom was younger than 50, or for women with three first- or second-degree relatives of any age with breast cancer

"This puts you in a higher risk category where you might consider breast cancer genetic testing," Norsigian said.

"It's not something for everyone, it's also quite expensive, but it's important that women begin the conversation of thinking about whether it's appropriate, whether it might benefit them, and then if we should find that we do develop breast cancer thinking about those options later."