Issue: Should Women Follow Angelina Jolie’s Lead on Preventive Mastectomies?

Angelina Jolie made world news Tuesday with her announcement that she had undergone a “preventive” double mastectomy after learning she had a genetic marker for breast cancer.

“I wanted to write this to tell other women that the decision to have a mastectomy was not easy,” Jolie wrote in The New York Times. “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.”

But not every woman has the means or access to genetic testing. Should they seek this out?  And even if it's affordable, should they take the leap?

Share your views in the comments.