Angelina Jolie's aunt, Debbie Martin, has lost her battle with breast cancer. She was 61.

The devastating news comes nearly two weeks after Jolie revealed she had a preventative double mastectomy after learning she had tested positive for the "faulty" BRCA1 gene.

Martin was hospitalized on Wednesday after suffering a seizure, her husband Ronald Martin, told The Mirror. She passed away early Sunday morning at Palomar Hospital in Escondido, California, according to E! News.

While Jolie was not able to be with her aunt, she had seen Martin many times since her diagnosis, and both Jolie and her brother James Haven had been in contact throughout this past week to lend their support. "They both loved Debbie very much and although Angie is not able to come right now she has sent her love and support which was very nice," Ronald told E!

Martin is the biological sister of Jolie's mother, Marcheline Bertrand, who died after a seven-year battle with ovarian cancer in 2007. Debbie had marked the four-year anniversary of Bertrand's passing with a tribute on the blog Marcheline Bertrand Rembered.

Recounting life without her sister, she wrote: "My heart hurts and I just have to learn to slowly walk with my wounds, step by step, with a hole in my heart, yet carrying cherished memories which keep me whole and holds me up day by day."

As Jolie copes with this loss – and prepares for more surgery to have her ovaries removed – she has her family's support.

"Debbie and I were both very proud of her recent decision to have the double mastectomy and to do everything she can to keep her family from having to go through what we've been through," Ron told E!
Source: People Magazine: http://www.people.com/people/mobile/article/0,,20703806,00.html

Seems they've got hereditary cancer genes in the family. Angelina should check her daughter too to make sure she doesn't have it.

R.I.P to her aunty