Silicon Valley – A few individuals who are ex- employees of Google joined hands to form a new start up called Color Genomics. The company claims that they have developed a DIY method to carry out breast cancer genetic screening test. This DIY test will cost just $249 and it could end up saving a life.
This test can be performed at home and it costs comparatively less than what the other tests cost to determine the risk of breast and ovarian cancers cost. The company is positive that they would in the future make available genetic testing for mutations in BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes for women. BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes can increase the risk of breast and ovarian cancer in women, along with 17 other genes that can have a role to play in the development of breast and ovarian cancer in women.
“We’ve tried to democratize access to this type of genetic information around breast and ovarian cancer risk and we wanted to do it in a responsible way,” says company co-founder Elad Gil.
The issue of breast and ovarian cancer gained momentum when famous personality Angelina Jolie did not shy away from public to speak about her decision to have her breasts, ovaries and fallopian tubes removed. She was tested positive for BRCA1. This prompted her to have her breasts, ovaries and fallopian tubes removed as she wanted to cut down the risk of cancer.
Now that the company has developed a cost effective method to test the risk of breast and ovarian cancer in women, medical practitioners are positive that many women will come ahead to make use of the DIY kit. This kit can be purchased from the official website of the company. The woman is required to carry out the saliva swab test at home and send the sample to the company. The test results are emailed to the individual by the company.
