Auto Amazon Links: No products found.
Heather Morgan reflects on how her health journey might have been very different if she had lived just across the border in England instead of Monmouthshire, Wales. Diagnosed with breast cancer 12 years ago, Heather believes that access to genetic testing available in England at that time could have potentially prevented her later development of ovarian cancer. Her location, only eight miles west of the English border, meant she missed out on genetic screening that would have identified her high risk due to a BRCA1 gene mutation.
Back in 2014, English patients under 50 with triple negative breast cancer were offered immediate genetic testing, a policy not followed in Wales during that period. Heather explained that had she undergone testing, it likely would have led to the pre-emptive removal of both ovaries, significantly reducing her risk of ovarian cancer. Reflecting on her situation, she expressed deep frustration, saying, “I am mad annoyed” and noting how her outlook has changed dramatically with a statistical 10-year survival rate now at just 35%.
The Welsh government has acknowledged these concerns, appointing a minister for preventative and public health and planning to emphasize earlier cancer detection as part of a national cancer strategy. However, it was only in 2021, after noticing a lump, that Heather was diagnosed with ovarian cancer. Subsequent tests confirmed she carries the BRCA1 mutation, elevating her lifetime risks for both breast and ovarian cancers. Heather shared, “Had I been tested [in 2014] we would have immediately known I was at high risk for ovarian cancer,” emphasizing how such knowledge would have guided her medical decisions earlier.
Disparities in genetic testing access are not limited to Wales versus England but also exist within different health trusts and regions. Heather’s own family encounters this variation—her younger daughter in the north-east of England has been invited for genetic testing, while her elder daughter in the north-west has not. Supporting this view, Wendy Watson, founder of the National Hereditary Breast Cancer Hel
Read the full article from The BBC here: Read More
Auto Amazon Links: No products found.