Misusing Double Mastectomy in Breast Cancer

The recent surgery of celebrity Angelina Jolie has has contributed to the increase in contralateral prophylactic mastectomy (CPM), or removal of the healthy breast (1). Jolie has a strong reason for undergoing such a drastic decision, carrying gene mutations of BCR1 and BCR2. What are the implications of an un-needed mastectomy? 

Angelina Jolie's Double Mastectomy Due to Breast Cancer Gene

Well-known, Oscar-winning actress, Angelina Julie, Brad Pitt's 8-year partner, has just announced she has undergone a double preventive mastectomy--both breasts surgically removed--in April 2013. The reason is that she had learned she has BRCA1, a "gene that significantly raised her risk of breast cancer." (Watch videos and read more below).