Number of British women testing for breast cancer doubled since Angelina Jolie went public with her mastectomy

Number of British women testing for breast cancer doubled since Angelina Jolie went public with her mastectomy
(Image credit: Ethan Miller/Getty Images)

Nearly a year and a half ago, actress and humanitarian Angelina Jolie went public with her decision to undergo a double mastectomy. Since then, the number of British women who opt for genetic breast cancer tests has doubled, Reuters reports.

A study published in the journal Breast Cancer Research and released Friday showed that across 21 clinics and genetic centers, there were 4,847 referrals for genetic breast cancer tests in June and July of 2013, compared to just 1,981 in that same time period in 2012. Jolie made her announcement in May 2013, leading researchers to dub the statistic the "Angelina Jolie effect."

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Kimberly Alters

Kimberly Alters is the news editor at TheWeek.com. She is a graduate of the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University.