health

The free medical test every woman should take on their smartphone right now.

Did you know that approximately 660,000 Australian women have a greater risk of developing breast and ovarian cancer? You or a woman you love could be one of them.

In 2017, one in eight women will develop breast cancer at some point in her life, while ovarian cancer grips one in 81.

Today, I took an easy online test to know my risk. No needles or complicated medical terminology, just a smart phone and five minutes of my time.

Developed by Pink Hope in partnership with Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, the Know Your Risk tool identifies your risk factors for breast and ovarian cancer in the time it takes to grab your morning coffee.

The questionnaire uses your answers to a series of questions to estimate your risk of developing breast and ovarian cancer as either average, moderately increased, or potentially high risk based on criteria outlined in Australian and international cancer guidelines.

Some of the questions you’ll be asked include your age, height and weight, if you’ve ever been told you have ‘dense breast tissue’, contraceptives use and family history among other contributing factors.

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The tool also suggests next steps for participants in each risk category – these too are based on clinical practice guidelines, the Pink Hope website explains.

The main guidelines used in the development of the Know Your Risk tool are:

Mamamia urges every woman to take this test, you can find it here. Then grab your friends, daughters, sisters, mothers and any woman you know, and get her to take the test too!

Listen: Sally Obermeder is a Pink Hope ambassador. Check out her conversation with Mia Freedman on No Filter…

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