Jolie 'getting ready' for hysterectomy now

Actress Angelina Jolie is reportedly "getting ready" to undergo a hysterectomy, a year after she had a double mastectomy.

The 38-year-old, whose mother Marcheline Bertrand died of breast and ovarian cancer in 2007, underwent a double mastectomy last year after discovering she carried the BRCA1 gene, giving her a high chance of contracting both the types of cancer, which her mother suffered from, and is now preparing to have another operation.

"My mother had breast and ovarian cancer so I have that lingering... I'm getting ready for that one (a hysterectomy) at some point," contactmusic.com quoted her as saying.

Angelina, who raises children Maddox, 12, Pax, 10, Zahara, nine, Shiloh, seven, and five-year-old twins Knox and Vivienne with fiance Brad Pitt, is proud that her decision has made more women come forward and get tested for cancer genes.

"I've gotten so many beautiful letters from women who've gone in for the test. The most moving are the women who have found out they got checked just in time. But they are home now with their kids and they're fine. I feel so happy to be a part of that," she said.

"At least there are things we can do to try and prevent eventually getting cancer. And anything we can do to prevent it, we have to," she added.