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A new study conducted in Austria, found that women became more aware of breast reconstruction surgery after Angelina Jolie Pitt revealed that she had undergone a double mastectomy.
In 2013 Angelina Jolie Pitt announced that she had undergone surgery in order to get a double mastectomy. Jolie said that she had a mutation in the gene called BRCA1, which is known to increases the risk of developing breast cancer. In order to prevent that from happening, Jolie opted for surgery. Her announcement quickly made headlines.
In the study, the researchers from Austria conducted an online poll before and after Angelina Jolie’s announcement. Each time, about 1,000 women from Austria took the part in the polls. Prior to the announcement, about 89 percent of the women said that they were aware of the fact that breast reconstruction may be done after a mastectomy. The number increased to 92.6 percent after the announcement.
“This is the first prospective report to prove the media’s effect on the healthcare-related issue of breast cancer among the general public,” stated Dr. David Lumenta, an assistant professor of plastic surgery at the Medical University of Graz in Austria.
According to the researchers, a lot more women became knowledgeable regarding the possibility of reconstructing the breasts by using fat tissue taken directly from the woman herself, as opposed to using regular breast implants that are made out of synthetic material. The study found that about 68.9 percent of the women who took the poll knew of this possibility after Angelina Jolie’s big announcement, as opposed to only 57.6 percent prior to the announcement.
The women’s awareness regarding the possibility of getting breast reconstruction surgery the same day that the breast removal surgery is performed increased by 19 percent (from 40.5 percent to 59.5 percent).
In 2014, a previous study conducted by researchers in the United Kingdom showed the effect, also known as the Angelina Jolie effect, that the movie star can have on the public opinion. After her announcement, the number of people who went and tested for genetic breast cancer increased by almost 50 percent. The number of women who requested mastectomies increased as well.
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