I received my free BRCA cancer screen test this week.

Here’s a description of the study I’m participating in. You may want to participate as well.

The current criteria for gene testing in Canada have fallen behind more progressive countries. I would have qualified automatically in both Iceland & Australia for example.

My own oncologist has referred me to the BC Cancer Agency’s program at least three times – I’ve been continually rejected as I don’t meet their criteria, even having had two different breast cancers.  I’m at a higher risk for ovarian cancer which is a silent killer.  If I know for certain that I have the gene, I’ll get those ovaries out, lickety split.

For more about Diane’s experience with cancer, click on the photo and visit her instagram takeover

This is a blurb from their website:

The Screen Project is a Canadian National initiative to make BRCA1 & BRCA2 screening available to all Canadians over 18 years of age at an accessible price. We invite you to order your BRCA test from your home, from anywhere in Canada. For a cost of $165 USD (there’s an option to apply for funding to cover either 50% or 100% of this cost), Veritas Genetics will ship a saliva collection kit to your home. Once completed, collection kits are sent back to Veritas Genetics and results will be received in 2-4 weeks. Individuals who are unable to afford the cost of the test are eligible for financial assistance.

As part of The Screen Project, you will also help our team of researchers at the Familial Breast Cancer Research Unit of Women’s College Hospital evaluate the benefits of population-based genetic testing. We hope that our study will reduce the mortality from breast, ovarian, prostate and other cancers.

Why Should You Care?

Breast cancer is the most common cancer among Canadian women and affects approximately 1 in 9 women and ovarian cancer affects another 1%. In men, prostate cancer will affect about 1 in 8 men. We do not understand the cause of most cancers, but approximately 5-10% of all breast and ovarian cancers are hereditary and due to a mutation in a gene that is passed down from one generation to the next.
Two genes, BRCA1 and BRCA2, are strongly associated with breast, ovarian and prostate cancers. BRCA mutations predispose women to a higher lifetime risk of breast and ovarian cancer. Men with a BRCA mutation are at increased risk of developing prostate and other cancers. It is estimated that one in every 200 Canadians carries a mutation in one of the two BRCA genes. However, members of several groups are more likely to have a mutation than the average Canadian. These groups include:

• Women with a recent or past history of breast or ovarian cancer
• Women with ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS)
• Men with prostate cancer
• Men and women with pancreatic cancer
• Women and men with a family history of breast or ovarian cancer.

Knowing if you have a BRCA mutation can help us detect cancer earlier in you and your family members, and in many cases, cancer can be prevented.

For more information, contact: thescreenproject@wchospital.ca or go to http://www.thescreenproject.ca/ & click Join the Study at the bottom of the page.

See this link for a great article on the value of this project.
#BRCAscreen