More opt for preventive surgery

A leading cancer expert has said the number of people opting for preventive surgery has increased as a result of improvements in genetic testing.

People who test positive for a particular cancer gene have said they are now being given a choice as to what to do about their future.

Five sisters from County Armagh are being tested for the rare but deadly BRCA 1 gene.

Four out of the five Conlon sisters have tested positive.

Their brother has also tested positive, with another still to be tested.

We are confident that by the time our kids have to deal with this at a personal level, they will have even more choices available Mary Conlon Sisters' surgery dilemma

A history of breast cancer in the family prompted their action with each of the sisters opting for preventive surgery to increase their odds of beating cancer.

Mary, who is the eldest and has had both breasts removed, said her family now had choices that were not available to the generation before.

"We are confident that by the time our kids have to deal with this at a personal level, they will have even more choices available," she said.

"There have been recent breakthroughs in drug treatment for this type of cancer."

Professor Patrick Morrison, who set up the genetic cancer clinic at the Belfast City Hospital in 2000, said about 3,000 people were now being tested each year.

Scientists were pushing back the frontiers of medicine to enable some people with cancer live longer, he said.