October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month and stories about the "Angelina Effect" have begun to resurface as a topic of debate on the net.

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Angelina's mother, fashion model Marcheline Bertrand, died of ovarian cancer at age 56. Women with family histories of ovarian and breast cancer run higher risks of also being diagnosed with breast and ovarian cancer themselves due to genetic mutations.

Physicians can detect the BRCA1 and BRCA2 genetic mutations and inform the patient if they do in fact run a higher risk for those cancers.

One of the drastic options for preventative care is mastectomy, removal or partial removal of the breast as a preemptive strike.

Angelina, who has been known in Hollywood as a sex symbol, made this decision.  Would you? If you found out that you ran a higher risk, would you opt for mastectomy or would you wait for a diagnosis before having a drastic operation?

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