Angelina Jolie is looking back on her personal decision to undergo a double mastectomy and ovary removal.

“I did choose to have that [surgery] because I lost my mother and my grandmother very young,” Jolie, 50, told Hello! in a Tuesday, October 7, profile, referring to her relatives’ respective cancer battles. “I have the BRCA gene, so I chose to have a double mastectomy a decade ago.”

The BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes help produce proteins to help repair an individual’s DNA, according to the NIH’s National Cancer Institute. Mutations of the genes are often linked to an increased risk of breast, ovarian and other types of cancer.

“I’ve also had my ovaries removed, because that’s what took my mother. Those are my choices,” Jolie told Hello! on Tuesday. “I don’t say everybody should do it that wa

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