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HUNTSVILLE, Ala. — The HudsonAlpha Institue for Biotechnology is once again helping provide the community with important, potentially lifesaving testing.

Starting today, the ‘Information is Power’ initiative will offer free genetic cancer risk testing to men and women between the ages of 28-30 who live in Madison, Jackson, Limestone, Marshall or Morgan County. Testing will be offered until November 6, 2019.

Anyone that doesn’t fall within that age range, but is at least 19 and lives in those counties, can receive testing for a discounted price of $129.

The test, offered by Kailos Genetics, screens for the well-known BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes, as well as more than 30 additional genes linked to an increased risk of breast, ovarian, colon and other types of cancers.

The initiative will be sponsored by the Russel Hill Cancer Foundation.

“Russel Hill Cancer Foundation is designed to help our cancer community and we can’t think of a better way to show our support than through the Information is Power initiative,” said Emily Davis, executive director at Russel Hill Cancer Foundation.

To date, more than 3,500 test kits have been processed through the initiative and about three percent reported a mutation in genes linked to increased cancer risk.

“Many of the individuals who tested positive reported little to no family history of cancer,” said Liz Worthey, PhD, faculty investigator at HudsonAlpha. “Through Information is Power, we’ve been able to provide valuable information to those who were unknowingly at risk.” Worthey is the faculty lead for the initiative.

For more information on the initiative and to order or gift a test, click here.