Researchers have found that the ‘Angelina Jolie effect’ has real-world consequences. A new study from Austria suggests that celebrities’ health problems may help increase awareness when they make headlines.
Oscar-winning film star, Angelina Jolie, announced her breast removal surgery to prevent cancer in May 2013. The actress’ double mastectomy and reconstruction has raised awareness of cancer treatment, researchers said.
The Angelina Jolie effect
Women reported that they had a better understanding of breast removal and reconstruction options after Jolie’s experiences were conveyed to the public. Researchers said that the current study is the first of its kind conducted among the general public to “measure a quantifiable media-related effect on public awareness.”
“The key finding was that Mrs. Jolie’s announcement did indeed affect the public opinion going beyond gene-positivity [and] actually improving the awareness that breast reconstruction can be achieved with the use of one’s own tissue and that it can be done during the breast-removal operation,” said Dr. David Benjamin Lumenta, of Medical University of Graz.
Pre and Post Angelina Jolie’s announcement
For the study, the researchers used data collected from 1,000 women recruited online before and after Jolie’s announcement. Following Jolie’s statement, researchers noticed an increase in the percentage of women who were aware that breast reconstruction is possible and that it could be done using a woman’s own tissue. A larger jump — from about 41 percent to about 60 percent — was noticed in consideration to the number of women who knew that breast removal and reconstruction could be done during the same surgery.
Breast cancer and Angelina Jolie
In light of the results of the study, researchers have begun to beg the question: Can stars encourage people living with different conditions to talk about it and bring it out of the shadows? One in five of the women taking the poll indicated that the media’s coverage of Jolie’s announcement made them ‘deal more intensively with the topic of breast cancer’.
“The general public … have obtained most of their information about health and disease even before consulting a specialist, in most cases without specific background knowledge,” Lumenta said. “The medical profession deals more than ever with this growing amount of information and it is in our hands to assist patients in making the right choice for their particular situation.”
The American Cancer Society estimates that about 231,840 new cases of invasive breast cancer will be diagnosed in women in the United States in 2015. At this time there are more than 2.8 million breast cancer survivors in the United States.
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The Angelina Jolie Effect On Cancer Prevention
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