Genetic Testing for Ovarian and Breast Cancer Now Only at $ 249!
For many women across the globe getting the genetic test that Angelina Jolie did before her double mastectomy, has been cost-prohibitive. Now a new kit aims to change all that.
Cost just $ 249, Color Genomics' saliva kit tests for BRCA 1, 2 and 17 other genetic mutations that are known to up the risk of breast and ovarian cancer. Existing tests could cost around $ 3,000, which is why the kit is expected to be a game-changer. Users simply have to send a saliva sample through the kit to the company. After analysis the results are made available online, the company explained on its website.
Ever since word of its development got out, the kit has drawn mixed reactions. Given the current recommendations in the US that only women with a family history of breast or ovarian cancer should opt for genetic testing, medical experts feel kits may arm women without a familial history, with information that could lead to increased removal of healthy body parts.
The reactions to the kit maker's announcements were mixed not unlike those Jolie had received when she revealed she her breast removal two years ago and more recently, removal of ovaries. While many hailed her decisions, the medical community was divided with many doctors opining that Jolie could have taken a wait-and-watch approach.
Though the actor herself recent wrote that her choice of actions isn't the only way to address an elevated risk, her announcements have spurned what is now recognized as 'Jolie Effect' which has pushed more women to avail genetic testing and breasts removal in recent years.
