Hereditary Breast and Ovarian Cancer Syndrome

Actress Angelina Jolie recently revealed that she had surgery to remove her ovaries and fallopian tubes two years after she underwent a double mastectomy to cut her cancer risk. According to Jolie, she carries a mutation of the BRCA1 gene, which sharply increases her risk of developing breast cancer and ovarian cancer. Her mother was diagnosed with the latter at age 49 and died seven years later.