According to figures from the ACT Genetics Service, the ''Angelina Jolie effect'' was widely felt across the territory with waiting times for non-urgent risk assessment increasing from 12 to 18 months as a result.

Women who are considered at the highest risk are assessed on a triage basis and usually seen within a couple of weeks.

Actor Angelina Jolie sparked a worldwide rush for genetic testing when she revealed in May that she had undergone a preventive double mastectomy at age 37 after learning she carried the BRCA1 gene and had an 87 per cent risk of developing breast cancer.

Jolie had lost her mother, grandmother and aunt to breast and ovarian cancer and her surgery has lowered her risk of developing breast cancer to less than 5 per cent.

Senior genetic counsellor with the ACT service Linda Warwick said the ACT figures reflected the trend to genetic screening felt across the Western world as a result of Jolie's public stance.

The peak inquiry period was from May to August, with a slight fall in inquiries in September and October.

Ms Warwick said the service had seen about 300 families come in over the past year to inquire about the potential for them to be affected by either a faulty BRCA1 or BRCA2 gene - a figure that would be considerably higher this financial year because of the ''Jolie effect''.

BRCA1 is considered the more serious of the two as it tends to hit women at a younger age with more aggressive breast or ovarian cancer. Men too can carry and pass on the genes and it increases their risk of breast, prostate and pancreatic cancer.

Ms Warwick said only a third of all referrals progressed to gene testing once their risk assessment was completed and if they were considered at high risk.

Using detailed family history and medical details and feeding them through a computer algorithm, geneticists could reliably predict the likelihood that a person could be carrying a breast/ovarian cancer gene.

Only one in 500 people has the genetic mutation, which accounts for about 5 per cent of cancer diagnoses.

While anyone can be tested, the $2000 cost is Medicare-funded for a person who meets the criteria for high risk, or those with a family member already found to have one of the genes.

Ms Warwick said a handful of people sought gene testing even when they were not considered high-risk.

''Not everyone meets the criteria and we don't go into the testing process lightly.'' Patients are given extensive psychological assessment and support before, during and after the risk assessment and testing process.

The gene test itself is a simple blood test, the results of which take between four and eight weeks to complete.

Ms Warwick noted that most women and men who sought confirmation through genetic testing had mentally prepared themselves for the likelihood they carried the gene and were often disbelieving if the test came back negative.

''People arrive here with a heightened sense of cancer anxiety and many of them have already suffered significant losses of family members to cancer.'' Yet she said people seeking confirmation of their genetic

predisposition to cancer were usually not overly emotional or distressed.

''There are far fewer tears involved than you might think. Most Canberrans are well informed and aware of their risk and are seeking confirmation so they may make informed decisions about their ongoing health management.''

For women this meant intensive yearly breast screening such as breast MRI scans until the age of at least 50 and constant vigilance. In an increasing number of cases this also leads to women choosing to have a prophylactic mastectomy.

Ms Warwick said the option of having a preventive mastectomy before any cancer was detected was increasingly being sought by young women as an alternative to a constant regime of screening.

''Some feel it is a cloud hanging over their heads and they don't want to be constantly overshadowed by the threat of cancer. It is an intensely personal decision.

''I've been working in cancer genetics for 15 years and I have noticed in the past five years that attitudes to having both breasts removed have become much more positive. In the past it was considered an absolute last resort. Perhaps part of that is that cosmetic surgery has become much more mainstream.''

In the past 10 years, 44 Canberra women treated at the genetic clinic had opted for a prophylactic mastectomy - 10 of them in the past three years. Ms Warwick said the ''Jolie effect'' would increase that figure further.

Women affected by cancer and BRCA1 and BRCA2 carriers could receive a Medicare rebate for the $35,000 cost, while those women unaffected needed to pay privately - even if they had a strong family history of cancer.

Since 2009, eight women out of the 153 currently having breast MRIs in Canberra on a yearly basis because they carry the defective gene have gone on to develop cancer. All are still living.