Angelina Jolie’s Mastectomy a Well-Planned PR Campaign?

Angelina Jolie's revelation about preventive double mastectomy could be a 'for-profit corporate PR gimmick,' reports Natural News.com.

Recently, in the New York Times op-ed, Jolie disclosed that she underwent double mastectomy to avoid further risks of breast cancer. This disclosure drew wide attention from people across the world. She said her intention in sharing her experience was to help women suffering from the disease. Hollywood celebrities, too, praised her for her brave act.

But, the report by Natural News.com states that Jolie's move to reveal her mastectomy through "carefully-crafted language" had immediate effects. The website suggests that the announcement had the immediate effect of getting women worried across the globe about the disease. Her suggestion of getting BRAC1 testing done will definitely drive women to seek the test in droves

In the U.S. the  BRAC1 gene testing procedure  happens to be patented by 'Myriad Genetics (MYGN),' a for-profit organization. Each test can range anywhere between $3,000 and $4,000. The testing itself is a million-dollar market. The patent is awaiting a decision by the Supreme Court on its viability.

The report further disclosed that after Jolie's NYT op-ed, the stock price of MYGN shot up to a 52-week high. Its stock closed up 3 percent on Tuesday, according to Marketwatch.com.

The question here is does everyone who is susceptible to the disease need the testing done. According to a follow-up on Jolie's mastectomy, Dr H Gilbert Welch of the Darmouth Institute for Health Policy and Clinical Practice said that her revelation might motivate most of the women to undergo mastectomy even if they do not need it.

"If American women saw themselves in Angelina Jolie -- then that would be a problem. Because the logical next question is: Should I get a preventive mastectomy," he wrote.

He further said that over 99 percent of women do not need double mastectomy as they do not have the mutated BRAC1 or BRAC2  gene. He explained that the mutated BRCA1 gene can increase the risk of breast cancer five times and ovarian cancer risk by 10 times. Therefore, preventative measures like a double mastectomy can be beneficial.

However, a woman who has normal risk will not gain much from such preventive measure. In her op-ed, Jolie mentioned that women should perform mutated BRCA1 gene test. She said that over 500,000 women die every through breast cancer. But, according to Welch "90 percent of these deaths have nothing to do with BRCA1."

Less than one percent of woman who have the BRCA1 gene have it passed on hereditarily.