Angelina Jolie’s celebrity mastectomy coverage improves awareness.

ANGELINA Jolie’s very public decision to talk about her preventive double mastectomy and breast reconstruction has improved awareness significantly, new research shows.

A survey of 1000 women before and after her announcement showed an increase in breast reconstruction awareness by 4% and the use of your own tissue in reconstructive surgery by 11%.

The research, which was published by the American Cancer Society’s journal Cancer, revealed that media coverage can serve as a tipping point for improving the general public’s knowledge about a particular health topic.

Angelina announced her decision to have both her breasts removed in 2013, after revealing she carried a BRCA1 gene mutation that puts her at an increased risk of developing breast cancer.

In a bid to see how much her announcement had on the general public, David Benjamin Lumenta from the Medical University of Graz, in Austria, conducted two online polls with 1000 female participants each — one before and the other after the celebrity’s announcement.

The results showed that 4% more women were aware that reconstructive surgery is possible after breast removal, with an even greater awareness of breast reconstruction through the use of one’s own tissues.

“This is the first prospective report to prove the media’s effect on the healthcare-related issue of breast cancer among the general public, which was based on a serendipitous design: the initial poll on breast reconstruction was conducted a month before Mrs. Jolie’s announcement, triggering a timely repetition thereafter in a second poll,” said Dr. Lumenta.