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12/23/2024 12:48:34 am

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Angelina Jolie’s Mastectomy Surgery Increases Breast Cancer Treatment Awareness

Angelina Jolie’s Mastectomy Surgery Increases Breast Cancer Treatment Awareness

The “Angelina Jolie Effect” has managed to spread breast cancer treatment awareness, says a recent study.

A latest study pointed that Jolie's announcement of her undergoing double mastectomy surgery has improved the awareness of breast cancer surgery and treatment.

Jolie mentioned in an interview for The New York Times that she had a BRCA1 alteration, which had put her at higher risk for breast as well as ovarian cancers. She then decided to undergo a double mastectomy and reconstructive surgery.

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A BRCA1 mutation makes a woman 55%-65% more prone to getting breast cancer.

After this announcement published in the journal Cancer many women opted to undergo genetic testing to know if they too carried an altered BRCA1 gene, according to an AARP report.

On May, 2014 she announced that she had decided to get remove her ovaries and fallopian tubes to reduce the risk of cancer. This March, a blood test evaluated changes linked to the protein CA-125, which is used to monitor ovarian cancer. Jolie's doctor advised her to see her surgeon, who also had treated her late mother.

"I choose not to keep my story private because there are many women who do not know that they might be living under the shadow of cancer. It is my hope that they, too, will be able to get gene tested, and that if they have a high risk they, too, will know that they have strong options," Jolie wrote in the piece for The New York Times.

This incident has managed to gather considerable media attention.

A team of researchers wanted to investigate the effect of the media coverage of Jolie's experience on public awareness. The study was led by the David Benjamin Lumenta, from the Medical University of Graz in Austria.

The study was conducted by engaging 1,000 female volunteers and same questions were asked to them before and after the celebrity's announcement.

The study found increased points of percentage before and after the announcement. The study revealed that one-fifth volunteers stated that media coverage of Jolie's experience helped them "deal more intensively with the topic of breast cancer."

Dr. Lumenta stated that since individual choice will become a driving force for patient-centered decision-making in the future, cancer specialists should be aware of public opinion when consulting patients with breast cancer.

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