The famous American actress Angelina Jolie wrote in the New York Times that she had both of her breasts preventively removed because she carries the BRCA1 mutation. Jolie’s article in the New York Times about her preventive bilateral mastectomy for carrying the BRCA1 mutation caused shockwaves in the medical community, with some supporting and others doubting the practice. Julie’s action to use her personal extremes to raise awareness of this disease among women in general is courageous. But from a medical perspective, why did she make the bold and compelling decision to prophylactically remove both breasts? The lifetime risk of breast cancer for BRCA1 mutation carriers is 20% by age 40, 51% by age 50, 85% by age 70, and 40-50% by age 70 for ovarian cancer, respectively. The lifetime risk of breast cancer in BRCA2 carriers was 28% by age 50, 84% by age 70, and 0.4% for ovarian cancer by age 50. 27% for ovarian cancer by age 70. The risk of breast cancer in men was 6 percent.