As stated by Heidi Chial (2006), proto-oncogenes encode proteins that stimulate cell division and differentiation and perform a specific function. Proto-oncogenic processes are essential for human health and the maintenance of organs and tissues (Chial, 2006). On the other hand, tumor suppressor genes slow cell division, correct DNA errors, and allow cells to die: they simply prevent cells from becoming cancerous (American Cancer Society [ACS], 2011). Mutations can occur in these genes, i.e. an alteration in the DNA sequence which alters their correct functioning and can cause health problems. Proto-oncogenes, for example, when mutated, activate the oncogene (altered version) which causes acceleration and increase in cell division and soon goes out of control and leads to cancer (ACS, 2011). When mutations occur in tumor suppressor genes, as stated by Katherine M. Hyland (n.d.), the ability to correct DNA errors is deactivated and cancer also develops. The National Cancer Institute (2014) states that the original role of the BRCA gene is to produce proteins that help develop breasts, repair damaged DNA, and prevent rapid cell growth. For the same reason, the BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes belong to the category of tumor suppressor genes (Kluger and Park, 2013). Mutations in these genes are related to breast cancer because most BRCA genes are found in breast tissue, stated by Kluger and Park (2013), and when mutations occur, the accumulation of tumor cells begins and the breast cancer.Barbou S. Warren and Carol Devine (2003) stated that not all forms of breast cancer are hereditary; these are familial cancers (inherited from parents) or sporadic cancers (no family history of cancer). According to a figure... halfway through the document... double mastectomy was a logical alternative. Double mastectomy reduced the risk of cancer from 87% to only 5% (Kluger and Park, 2013). In Angelina's case, the surgery also increases her lifespan based on her mother's story, also stated by Kluger and Parker (2013), because her mother died of ovarian cancer at the age of 56, a cancer also influenced by the mutation of the BRCA gene. If one of my family members were diagnosed with an increased risk of breast cancer, I would simply recommend that she get a double mastectomy. I would not want my family member to be screened at least once a year and during that annual interval for them to develop cancer. Like Angelina Jolie, her preventative double mastectomy significantly reduced her cancer risk and increased her life expectancy (Kluger and Park 2013). My family member can have the same opportunity for life expansion and cancer reduction.