Angelina Jolie's aunt is in a coma dying of cancer.

The actress recently revealed she had undergone a double mastectomy after she was identified as carrying the BRCA1 cancer gene, which gave her an 87 per cent chance of developing breast cancer and a 50 per cent risk of getting ovarian cancer.

Now, her uncle Ronald has told of how his wife Debbie, 61, collapsed on Wednesday (22.05.13) and was surrounded by her family last night (25.05.13).

He told the Sunday People newspaper: ''She had a seizure and we took her to hospital.

''They have turned off the life support and her family is all here holding her hand. This is the love of my life ... My wife is hanging in there.

''It's just a matter of hours. She's a fighter. I have reached out to Angelina to tell her what's going on ... [Debbie is] in a coma. It's breast cancer but I think it has spread everywhere.''

While the star has praised her mother - who passed away in 2007 after being diagnosed eight year earlier - it is reported Debbie's brother Raleigh died of cancer two years later, while Angelina's grandmother Lois Bertrand and great-grandmother Virginia Gouwens were also tragically claimed by the disease.

Debbie was said to be ''very supportive'' of her nieces decision to have both her breasts removed, and a source close to the family claimed she would have taken similar measures if she'd known early enough.

The insider said: ''Angelina was very close to Deb and she did everything she could do to help her.

''Deb was very supportive of Angelina's decision to have preventative surgery.

''If she had known before what she found out too late, she would have had a double mastectomy as well as her ovaries removed.''

Angelina has children Maddox, 11, Pax, nine, Zahara, eight, Shiloh, six, and four-year-old twins Knox and Vivienne with fiance Brad Pitt, and has previously revealed they were one of the reasons she had the surgery.