Professor Arnold Hill:

In our family history clinics, where patients are triaged into one of three categories, high risk, medium risk are low-risk, if a woman is high risk there are certain criteria by which she may be tested for the genes BRCA 1 and BRCA 2. It is very important to appropriately counsel people before doing this test because the implications are very significant, for the patient and the wider family. It is not just about the patient in front of one, it is all of her siblings and her children. It is a huge issue to do this test and they must be prepared for the implications of it. If someone is BRCA 1 or BRCA 2 positive the implications are so significant as the patient may consider bilateral mastectomy with reconstruction or may consider at the appropriate time bilateral oophorectomy. It is a really significant thing. It is a very specialised area. It is available to us for people who are triaged in the right category. Currently all of our tests get done in the UK, but these tests are becoming cheaper. A decade ago the test for the BRCA 1 or BRCA 2 would have cost €3,000. It is now down to around €300. With that, we will be able to make this test available to a wider cohort.

However, please be aware of the huge significance for the patient and family of ending up being BRCA 1 positive or BRCA 2 positive.