Despite this, many women in past years were not able to receive sufficient advice about the issues surrounding breast cancer, including the idea of reconstructive surgery and preventive measures. “My chances of developing breast cancer have dropped from 87% to under 5%”. BRCA 1 and 2 are the genetic variants that increase the risk of breast and ovarian cancer.

But, to ascertain if that coverage had an effect on public awareness, a team of researchers led by David Benjamin Lumenta, from the Medical University of Graz in Austria, conducted two online polls.

“There were even greater increases in 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”, the authors noted.

Angelina Jolie shared her cancer scare, and experience with the elective surgeries, to raise awareness about the benefits of genetic testing.

Although Jolie’s announcement was met with some criticism, she has strongly defended her decision as detrimental for the sake of her health.

Angelina Jolie Pitt’s breast surgery increased women’s awareness of reconstructive breast surgery options, according to a new study from Austria.

Jolie, 40, wrote a New York Times op-ed in 2013 that frankly and openly discussed her response to the discovery that she inherited the BRCA1 gene mutation, which increased her risk of developing breast cancer and ovarian cancer to 87 percent and 50 percent, respectively. The surgeries are certainly not going to prevent the actress from getting cancer, however, they could greatly reduce the risk. Many researchers and media tales have speculated this, however the brand new analysis is the primary potential, scientific research to take a look at the impression of Jolie Pitt’s announcement, the researchers stated.

Lumenta also goes on to say, “Health topics, notably cancer, have always been of interest to the general public, and the predominant sources of information range from traditional media (magazines, newspapers) to Internet-based health platforms”.

When researcher compared the two study results they noticed a small increase, from about 89% to 93%, in the percentage of women who were aware of breast reconstruction possibilities after breast removal, as reported by the authors in the journal Cancer.

For example, Lumenta said, it’s possible to use a woman’s abdomen tissue “like in the case of a tummy tuck” for breast reconstruction. One-fifth of the contributors stated that the media protection of Jolie Pitt made them “deal extra intensively with the subject of breast most cancers”. The first batch was asked one month before Jolie released her statement, and the other batch surveyed a month after the announcement.

There was an even larger jump – from about 41 percent to about 60 percent – in the proportion of women who knew that breast removal and reconstruction could be done during the same surgery. “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”.