Angelina Jolie is being praised for her elegant courage after undergoing a double mastectomy on Tuesday, after learning she carries a genetic mutation of the BRCA1 gene. Jolie, [whose mother, Marcheline Bertrand died of ovarian cancer in 2007] now has a five percent chance of developing breast cancer.

"My doctors estimated that I had an 87 percent risk of breast cancer and a 50 percent risk of ovarian cancer, although the risk is different in the case of each woman," Jolie wrote. "Once I knew that this was my reality, I decided to be proactive and to minimize the risk as much I could. I made a decision to have a preventive double mastectomy."

Husband and actor Brad Pitt couldn't be more proud of his wife.

"Having witnessed this decision firsthand, I find Angie's choice, as well as so many others like her, absolutely heroic," Pitt told the London Evening Standard. "I thank our medical team for their care and focus."

Though Pitt hasn't released any info regarding his own cancer risks, he has been involved in cancer related charities for some time. Him, Angelina, and his brother Doug Pitt together donated $1 million to the Jane Pitt Pediatric Cancer Center at St. John's Hospital in Springfield, Missouri [Pitt's hometown].

Jolie hopes her double mastectomy will inspire other women who carry the same gene mutation. Though some doctors are afraid some women [who don't possess the BRCA1 gene] will overreact, we can all agree awareness is a good thing. Angelina Jolie, always in the public eye, was courageous and decisive. Like any good mother, she did what was best for her children, by staying alive.