Adults in England with at least one Jewish grandparent have just two days left to sign up for free BRCA testing with the NHS to check if they are a carrier of a gene fault that puts them at greater risk of developing several types of cancer.
Carriers of a BRCA gene mutation are significantly more likely than the general population to develop breast cancer, ovarian cancer, prostate cancer or pancreatic cancer. Research has found that having just one Jewish grandparent greatly increases the likelihood of someone carrying the mutation.
People of Ashkenazi heritage have a one in 40 chance of having a BRCA gene mutation and those of Sephardi heritage have a one in 140 chance, compared with one in 250 people in the general population.
Up to 40 per cent of ovarian cancer cases, and 10 per cent of breast cancer cases in the Jewish community are associated with a BRCA gene fault.
NHS England is now giving a final push to encourage those with Jewish heritage to sign up to get screened, for free, through its programme.
Since the launch of the NHS Jewish BRCA programme in January 2024, more than 32,000 people have registered for testing, according to the initiative.
You can register here to receive a testing kit from the programme
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