Angelina Jolie wrote that she had a preventative double mastectomy in an op-ed for the New York Times called “My Medical Choice.” Jolie says that she completed three months of surgical procedures between February and late April to remove and reconstruct both breasts after genetic tests showed she was at a high risk for breast cancer.

The Oscar-winning mother of six wrote that she chose to have the surgery because she watched her own mother die from breast cancer at a young age. Angelina Jolie wrote, "My mother fought cancer for almost a decade and died at 56. She held out long enough to meet the first of her grandchildren and to hold them in her arms. But my other children will never have the chance to know her and experience how loving and gracious she was."

Jolie wrote that her children were concerned, "They have asked if the same could happen to me."

Jolie, who is the daughter of Jon Voigt, said that she learned she carried the “faulty” BRCA1 gene after getting genetic testing. The tests showed she had an 87 percent chance of getting the disease herself.

The actress and former Goodwill Ambassador for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees said that she had been keeping the process private, but wrote the piece in the hopes that she could help other women. "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 percent to under 5 percent. I can tell my children that they don't need to fear they will lose me to breast cancer."

In the article, Jolie gave a detailed description of the procedures, "My own process began on Feb. 2 with a procedure known as a 'nipple delay,' which rules out disease in the breast ducts behind the nipple and draws extra blood flow to the area." She described the major surgeries to removed breast tissue she had two weeks later. She said it felt "like a scene out of a science-fiction film." She wrote that nine weeks after that procedure, she had a third surgery to reconstruct her breasts and get implants.

Since genetic screening for breast cancer was developed, a lot of women have chosen to get a preventive mastectomy, but it is rare for a young celebrity to take these steps and make a public announcement.

In the op-ed piece, Jolie, a celebrated sex symbol, talked about how the surgery might affect her idealized sexuality. She wrote "I do not feel any less of a woman. I feel empowered that I made a strong choice that in no way diminishes my femininity."

Jolie wrote that her partner of eight years, Brad Pitt, was with her at Southern California’s Pink Lotus for "every minute of the surgeries."