Since announcing her double mastectomy last May, a record number of women have been referred to breast cancer clinics in the UK.
Angelina Jolie has inspired what is now being called "The Jolie Effect", as The BBC report that referrals to breast cancer clinics has more than doubled since Jolie announced her double mastectomy in May 2013.
Professor Gareth Evans of the University of Manchester told The BBC that: "The Angelina Jolie effect has been long-lasting and global, and appears to have increased referrals to centres appropriately."
Luke Macgregor / Reuters
"Once I knew that this was my reality, I decided to be proactive and to minimize the risk as much I could. I made a decision to have a preventive double mastectomy. I started with the breasts, as my risk of breast cancer is higher than my risk of ovarian cancer, and the surgery is more complex."
Via nytimes.com
In the study, published in the Breast Cancer Research journal, it was also revealed that, additionally, referrals stayed at twice the previous years' amount in August through October.
Professor Evans said that Jolie's announcement was "likely to have had a bigger impact than other celebrity announcements" possibly because of "her image as a glamorous and strong woman."
Evans added that: "This may have lessened patients' fears about a loss of sexual identity post-preventative surgery and encouraged those who had not previously engaged with health services to consider genetic testing."
Handout / Reuters
