There s a new test for cancer risks from a longtime Jewish genetic screening program heritagefl.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from heritagefl.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
May 20, 2021 9:54 am It was only after Abby Match was diagnosed with an aggressive form of breast cancer that she learned she was a carrier of a mutation in her BRCA1 gene associated with a significantly elevated risk for developing breast cancer at a young age. (Courtesy of Match)
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After discovering a suspicious lump in her breast one day while in the shower, Abby Match was diagnosed in August with an aggressive form of breast cancer. She subsequently underwent a bilateral mastectomy, a hysterectomy, chemotherapy and radiation.
It was only after she discovered she was sick that Match, 35, learned she was a carrier of a mutation in her BRCA1 gene associated with a significantly elevated risk for developing breast cancer at a young age, and also for ovarian and other cancers. One in 40 Ashkenazi Jews have a BRCA mutation, which is 10 times higher than in the general population.
A company whose goal is to identify those at risk for cancer has developed a way to screen for more than 60 cancer susceptibility genes. The work is being done at Emory Medicine’s department of human genetics. GPB’s Ellen Eldridge has more.
Caption Young, Black women are disproportionally affected by breast cancer, which is associated with the BRCA genes. Credit: Photo by Godisable Jacob from Pexels
A national public health initiative based out of Emory University School of Medicine’s Department of Human Genetics recently announced a new program that offers at-home testing for 63 cancer susceptibility genes associated with hereditary risks for breast, ovarian, prostate, colorectal, skin and many other cancers.