Medical workers believe that globally popular actresses, Angelina Jolie’s decision go speak openly about having both her breasts removed is inspiring a growing number of women with the disease in the UK.

More women are opting for the life-saving operation and many are believed to be inspired by the actresses.Jolie had announced in May 2013 that she had the surgery to prevent her developing breast cancer. She had found out that a faulty DNA gave her an 87 per cent chance of the disease. Many believe that her openness about the procedure has increased awareness of the procedure and removed some of the myths around it.

Researchers at Genesis Prevention Centre Family History clinic located in Manchester said that they have recorded an increase in the number of preventative double mastectomies during the previous few years. The clinic said that it carried out 83 double mastectomies in the 18 months from January 2014, which is almost three times higher than the previous 18 months. Experts said that many of these women had the same gene as Miss Jolie.

Researchers from the Genesis Prevention Centre said preventative double mastectomies at the clinic more than doubled from January 2014 to June 2015. They wrote, “Women attending for risk assessment and discussions concerning bilateral risk-reducing mastectomy, unprompted, still mention the effects of Angelina Jolie on their attendance anecdotally to clinic physicians and still reflect on the impact of her speaking publicly in their pre-surgery consultations with the clinical psychologist in 2015.”

The letter was published in the journal Breast Cancer Research.