Brad Pitt calls partner Angelina Jolie’s double mastectomy to reduce breast cancer risk ‘heroic’ (VIDEO)

Brad Pitt has led the praise for partner Angelina Jolie's decision to undergo a double mastectomy, calling her "heroic."

Pitt, 49, told London's Evening Standard newspaper:

"Having witnessed this decision firsthand, I find Angie's choice, as well as so many others like her, absolutely heroic. I thank our medical team for their care and focus."

He added:

"All I want for is for her to have a long and healthy life, with myself and our children. This is a happy day for our family."

Jolie and Pitt have six children together.

Jolie, 37, this week revealed in an editorial published in The New York Times that she had decided to have her breasts removed to reduce her cancer risk.

She said she feared she might develop breast cancer as a result of inheriting a "faulty gene," and chose to publicize her surgery as an example to other women and mothers.

Her mother, Marcheline Bertrand, died of ovarian cancer at the age of 56 and passed on the "faulty" gene, BRCA1, that put the actress at higher risk.

Jolie said she decided to go public about opting to have an elective double mastectomy to "encourage every woman" to think about their own risk of breast cancer and get tested.

After learning about her susceptibility to the disease, Jolie wrote:

"I decided to be proactive and to minimise the risk… I started with the breasts, as my risk of breast cancer is higher than my risk of ovarian cancer."

The surgery reduced her chance of developing breast cancer from 87 percent to 5 percent.

Doctors are already calling it the "Jolie effect," the BBC wrote.

Jolie's surgeon Dr. Kristi Funk of the Pink Lotus Breast Center in Los Angeles praised her patient's "bold choices" in a blog post, writing:

"We hope that the awareness she is raising around the world will save countless lives."

Others took to Twitter. Pop singer Kylie Minogue, a breast cancer survivor, posted:

#angelinajolie thank you for sharing your story and helping women around the world #inspirational

VIDEO: Brad Pitt hails 'heroic' Angelina Jolie