Angelina Jolie undergoes double mastectomy to cut cancer risk

Angelina Jolie was already a role model for many women for her humanitarian work in the developing world.

Not long ago, the film star was visiting Syrian refugees who had crossed the border to flee a civil war.

Now, she's gaining praise around the world for her courageous decision to go public with her preventive double mastectomy.

In an article in today's New York Times, Jolie writes that her doctors estimated her breast-cancer risk at 87 percent and her risk of ovarian cancer at 50 percent.

"On April 27, I finished the three months of medical procedures that the mastectomies involved," she writes. "During that time I have been able to keep this private and to carry on with my work. But 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."

Jolie's mother died at the age of 56 after a lengthy battle with cancer.

The film star declares in the New York Times that the surgery will reduce her chance of developing breast cancer to below five percent.

"I can tell my children that they don’t need to fear they will lose me to breast cancer," she writes. "It is reassuring that they see nothing that makes them uncomfortable. They can see my small scars and that’s it. Everything else is just Mommy, the same as she always was."