The Army has said it will now accept a 17-year-old recruit after previously rejecting her because two members of her family have had breast cancer. Carys Holmes, from Derbyshire, has a 50-50 chance of inheriting a gene fault from her mother but has not been tested for it yet. A lawyer had said the Army’s actions could have been discriminatory and a serious own goal. Carys has now been told she can start basic training in October.
Carys trained hard for the tough three-day selection process at Whittington Barracks, near Lichfield, in Staffordshire, and her work paid off. She passed the fitness and cognitive tasks with flying colours. But near the end of the process, Carys was taken aside and told she was being rejected because of an “extensive” history of breast cancer in her family.
I’d quit my job to train for it and everything,” Carys says. I just felt so crushed, like, ‘This is it – it’s over. I put all my dedication into getting in. And then it just felt like something so little like that, it just ruined it all.
“It really upset me
Both Carys’s aunt and mother had the Brca1 gene fault, which increases the risk of breast cancer.
Her aunt died of the disease and her mother, Rachael, is currently being treated for it. Carys and Rachael asked NHS genetic counselors to assess Carys’ chances of developing breast cancer should she have inherited the gene variant. Her risk of developing it by the age of 30, they suggested, could be.
1.9% with the gene
0.1% without.
Based on these findings, Carys appealed against the Army’s decision but was unsuccessful. Rachael is hurt her daughter has been rejected because of an unknown quantity. Having this gene doesn’t guarantee she’s going to get breast cancer,” Rachel says. And even if she did have the gene, she can take steps against that.
Source: BBC
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