Celebrities ... They Are Just Like Us

When you heard that actress Christina Applegate had breast cancer, did you finally schedule the mammogram you’d been putting off?

There’s an increased interest in cancer information and screenings when celebrities announce their conditions, report researchers at the University of North Carolina. They looked at more than three decades of news coverage of cancer in celebrities and found a direct relationship between a celebrity’s cancer announcement and public action.

The greatest peak in interest arrives a month or two after the announcement, and then it quickly calms down, according to the study