Angelina Jolie made waves in 2013 when she decided to remove both of her still-healthy breasts to avoid getting breast cancer – which, due to genetic family history, she had a high risk of contracting. Now, she’s making a splash again by revealing she also made the tough decision to have her ovaries and fallopian tubes removed to prevent ovarian cancer.

The famous actress’ highly publicized decision two years ago resulted in some unforeseen consequences: within days, hospitals and doctors around the world were deluged with calls from anxious women wanting to know more about genetic testing and breast surgery. David Fishman, director of the Mount Sinai Ovarian Cancer Risk Assessment Program in New York City said that interest in genetic testing at the Mount Sinai Hospital – one of the largest medical centers in the state – has almost doubled since 2013.

“Since then, every single patient in my program has brought up Angelina Jolie,” said Fishman. “It takes a lot of courage for someone to be willing to share their private health care with the world. Her courage pushed a deeply sensitive issue into the spotlight.” The Mount Sinai program treats more than 2,000 women per year.

“A Nobel laureate could give the same message, and it might reach only a handful of people,” said Fishman. “Angelina is using her celebrity in a heroic way, and she’s going to reach millions of people worldwide.”

Jolie announced her most recent surgery decision on Tuesday in an article for the New York Times magazine. “I went through what I imagine thousands of other women have felt,” she wrote. “I told myself to be strong, that I had no reason to think I wouldn’t live to see my children grow up and meet my grandchildren.”

Jolie lost her mother, grandmother, and aunt to cancer. Her mother, Marcheline Bertrand, fought a battle with breast cancer for over a decade before dying at age 56. She is determined that her six children will not have to worry about her own early demise.

“It is not possible to remove all risk, and the fact is that I remain prone to cancer,” she wrote. “I will look for natural ways to strengthen my immune system. I feel feminine and grounded in the choices I am making. I know my children will never have to say, ‘Mom died of ovarian cancer’.”