Health care professionals in Canada have claimed that the whole buzz about the famous Hollywood actress Angelina Jolie's risk of developing ovarian and breast cancer has spiked the number of women opting for breast cancer screening test in Montreal.

The number of women opting for medical advice related to breast cancer and its screening is at its all time high in Montreal. People are referring to this new trend as the “Jolie effect.”

“I’ve never quite heard it termed that before, but yes, since she’s come forward to share her story, we’ve definitely seen a spike in the referrals to our genetic counselling and also for families seeking assistance,” said Dr Shannon Salvador, a gynaecological oncologist at the Jewish General Hospital, reported Daybreak.

Jolie recently revealed that she got operated again for the second time to have her Fallopian tubes and ovary removed from the uterus on the account of underlying cancer risk. Earlier in 2014, Jolie underwent a double mastectomy to avoid developing breast and ovarian cancer, after physicians claimed that she is at 87 percent risk of developing cancer.

Jolie's mother and grandmother had ovarian cancer, making it necessary for the Oscar-winning actress to undergo multiple preventive surgeries due to genetic inheritance issues and risks.

BRCA1 or the breast cancer susceptibility gene is inherited as a faulty gene by a small percentage of women. According to the medical experts, a normal woman is at a 12 percent risk of developing breast cancer at some point of time in her life. However, a woman with the faulty BRCA1 gene is five times more susceptible to develop this life-threatening disease.

To report a problem or to leave a feedback on the article, send an e-mail to emailtoguneet@gmail.com.

RELATED STORIES