Angelina Jolie Confirms Having Double Mastectomy

                                                      Having been told that she carried the "faulty" gene BRAC1 - which gave her an 87 per cent chance of contracting breast cancer and a 50 per cent chance of developing ovarian cancer - the 37-year-old actress and mother-of-six underwent three months of medical procedures which culminated on April 27.

Jolie has writted an account of her experience, including the process of the mastectomy - which resulted in the reconstructive surgery with implants - and the reasons for her decision in the New York Times.

"Once I knew that this was my reality, I decided to be proactive and to minimize the risk as much as I could. I made a decision to have a preventive double mastectomy. I started with the breasts, as my risk of breast cancer is higher than my risk of ovarian cancer, and the surgery is more complex," she said. "I am writing about it now because I hope that other women can benefit from my experience. Cancer is still a word that strikes fear into people's hearts, producing a deep sense of powerlessness. But today it is possible to find out through a blood test whether you are highly susceptible to breast and ovarian cancer, and then take action."

The Oscar-winning actress and UN Special Envoy, who has three adopted children and three biological with her partner Brad Pitt, lost her own mother - actress Marcheline Bertrand - to ovarian cancer in 2007.

"We often speak of 'Mommy's mommy,' and I find myself trying to explain the illness that took her away from us. They have asked if the same could happen to me," she said. "I wanted to write this to tell other women that the decision to have a mastectomy was not easy. But it is one I am very happy that I made. My chances of developing breast cancer have dropped from 87 per cent to under 5 per cent. I can tell my children that they don't need to feel they will lose me to breast cancer."

Jolie also paid tribute to Brad Pitt in the article, describing him as "so loving and supportive" throughout the process.

"To anyone who has a wife or girlfriend going through this, know that you are a very important part of the transition," she wrote. "Brad was at the pink Lotus Breast Center, where I was treated, for every minute of the surgeries. We managed to find moments to laugh together. We knew this was the right thing to do for our family and that it would bring us closer. And it has."