South Manchester Community Gathers for a Health Awareness Event at Bowdon Shul

On Tuesday evening, members of the South Manchester community gathered at Bowdon Shul for “Ask the Experts”, an engaging and informative evening on two important health subjects.

Chaired by Chai Chairman, Louise Hager MBE, the evening featured two leading experts: Professor Gordon Jayson, Consultant Medical Oncologist at The Christie and Professor of Medical Oncology at the University of Manchester and Dr Ian Ellis, Senior Lecturer in Clinical Genetics at the University of Liverpool and Consultant Clinical Geneticist at the London Clinic.

Together, they broke down the science with a comprehensive overview of ovarian cancer and the latest insights behind BRCA gene mutations, highlighting the increased prevalence within the Ashkenazi Jewish community and explained how early detection through genetic testing can save lives.

Information was given on the groundbreaking NHS Jewish BRCA Testing Programme, which offers free genetic testing to people with just one or more Jewish grandparent. Chai and Jnetics are proud to be the NHS’s official delivery partners for this important initiative, working together to ensure the community has access to information, support, and testing.

The audience raised plenty of thoughtful questions and the event wrapped up with a lively Q&A session covering everything from symptoms to family risk and next steps after testing.

NHS England has announced that the free NHS Jewish BRCA Testing Programme will close towards the end of 2025. The community is being encouraged to take advantage of this opportunity, get informed and get tested – www.jewishbrca.org