How Kate Middleton's shock cancer news prompted me to pay £800 to discover my own risk of the disease... and I bumped into a friend doing exactly the same thing

Less than 72 hours aft nan Princess of Wales revealed she had been diagnosed pinch cancer, I was successful a High Street aesculapian session having elaborate humor tests which would uncover whether I, too, was astatine consequence of nan disease.

I'm 39 - conscionable a fewer years younger than Kate – and, until she made her shocking announcement, it was thing I would ne'er person considered doing.

But thing astir Kate being a mother of 3 young children, arsenic I am, trim consecutive to my halfway – and put nan fearfulness of God successful me.

And I'm not nan only one. By chance, I bumped into a friend, besides successful her early 40s, successful nan very aforesaid session having nan very aforesaid trial done connected Monday morning.

She doesn't person children but she, too, was rattled by Kate's diagnosis.

It's a shape being seen crossed nan country. The aesculapian testing patient Randox, which carried retired our tests, has seen a 25 per cent summation successful nan number of women coming forwards for crab checks since nan princess revealed her diagnosis.

And, successful nan 24 hours pursuing nan news, nan number of group looking up nan symptoms of crab connected nan NHS website roseate by 400 per cent. It's apt that, acknowledgment to her heroic determination to stock her test pinch nan world, Kate has saved lives. Would I beryllium 1 of them?

I had recovered retired Kate had crab conscionable arsenic I was taking disconnected connected a formation from Geneva to London connected Friday night. There were audible gasps successful nan aisles arsenic news alerts pinged done connected people's phones.

The infinitesimal was particularly poignant arsenic I was sitting adjacent to my champion friend Juliet, a expert whose copy sister, Polly, died from tegument cancer, which dispersed to nan brain, aged 34. The illness had gone undetected for months and Polly near down a three-month-old daughter.

I retrieve reasoning erstwhile Polly died that crab successful young group is an anomaly. Surely group successful their 30s and 40s don't get crab isolated from successful uncommon and sadistic circumstances?

But nan shocking truth is that nan number of under-50s getting crab is connected nan rise.

Cancer diagnoses successful group aged betwixt 25 and 49 person risen by 22 per cent since nan 1990s. Some experts person gone arsenic acold arsenic to explanation this an 'epidemic', and pass that nan origin remains a mystery. Of course, crab is still comparatively uncommon amongst nan under-50s, accounting only for 1 successful 10 caller cases of nan illness successful Britain. But this besides intends that nan NHS offers fewer opportunities for young group to find retired if they are astatine risk.

Anyone aged betwixt 40 and 74 is eligible for an NHS wellness check, which involves humor unit and cholesterin tests, arsenic good arsenic a aesculapian questionnaire. These tin thief place if you are astatine consequence of definite cancers, arsenic good arsenic different communal conditions specified arsenic glucosuria and bosom disease.

Women aged betwixt 50 and 70 are invited for bosom crab screening each 3 years – arsenic good arsenic younger women pinch a beardown family history of nan disease. Over-60s are eligible for regular bowel crab checks.

Women betwixt nan ages of 25 and 64 are besides invited for cervical crab cheque each 5 years.

As a symptomless 39-year-old pinch a family history of bosom cancer, I was eligible for bosom and cervical crab screening – but what astir each nan different types?

Many experts reason that it is simply a bully point that we cannot unreserved to nan NHS for a crab cheque erstwhile we consciousness for illustration it. 'The only crab screening programmes that nan NHS offers are ones which person been definitively shown to prevention lives and thief group flight terrible illness,' says Professor Stephen Duffy, a crab screening master astatine Queen Mary University of London.

'Many of these backstage crab tests you tin bargain connected nan High Street are not proven to work. If you get a scary result, it tin often lead to needless worry and pointless beingness investigations which tin beryllium unpleasant and painful.'

However, I was wished to find retired whether I was successful threat of processing crab and, fixed my constricted options connected nan NHS, I resolved connected that level to book successful for a backstage crab screening trial arsenic soon arsenic I could move my telephone backmost on.

I chose to spell to a Randox testing centre information nan area from wherever I unrecorded successful West London.

You mightiness retrieve nan Northern-Irish business arsenic nan Covid testing elephantine which was paid astir £800 cardinal by nan Government to process millions of our saliva samples.

These days, pinch very small Covid to speak of, Randox has pivoted to testing for a wide assortment of different conditions – including cancer, sexually transmitted infections, and urinary tract infections.

It besides offers respective cosmopolitan screening packages – which tin spot nan early warnings signs of communal issues specified arsenic diabetes, strokes, and arthritis each astatine once.

None of these screening tests are cheap.

A trial to find retired whether you person familial mutations that summation nan consequence of bosom and ovarian crab will costs astir £500.

The Signature Platinum Plus, which Randox claims is nan 'world's astir broad wellness programme' involving 'state-of-the-art familial tests' which screen 174 genes related to bosom illness and 94 associated pinch cancer, will costs an astonishing £3,900.

I decided to spell for 1 successful nan middle, nan Everywoman Plus Tumour-Associated Markers package, which claims it tin thief spot nan early signs of communal tumours specified arsenic liver and lung cancer. The trial does this by measuring levels of definite proteins successful nan blood. For example, larger than expected amounts of a macromolecule successful nan humor called CA-125, tin sometimes mean nan beingness of ovarian cancer.

However, studies show nan humor trial is not a foolproof method of detecting cancer. The assemblage besides produces CA-125 successful consequence to different conditions specified arsenic endometriosis, fibroids and moreover pregnancy. This intends that raised CA-125 levels do not mean you needfully person cancer.

The package besides provides a breakdown of my wide wellbeing, including bosom health, bony health, kidney usability and consequence of diabetes.

The assignment costs £857, which I admit is simply a immense magnitude to pay. It's much than capable money to bargain a designer handbag. And I realise it's a costs that galore group cannot afford.

But I reasoned that, for me, it's a value worthy paying. If I dice from late-diagnosed crab I won't beryllium taking a Chanel purse into nan adjacent life pinch me.

I chose not to opt for nan familial testing package. I cognize this is accusation which has done galore group bully – including character Angelina Jolie who chose to person a pre-emptive double mastectomy aft uncovering retired she had a cistron which put her successful threat of processing fierce bosom cancer.

But I wasn't fresh to return nan plunge and find retired I had inherited an accrued consequence of cancer. I wasn't judge what bully this accusation would do, isolated from interest me.

I was told to accelerated overnight earlier nan session. When I arrived nan adjacent day, I was ushered into a room wherever I took a urine test, had my waist, tallness and hips measured, and answered bid of questions astir my health.

This included whether I fume aliases portion – I smugly said that I'd fixed up some of my favourite, cancer-forming habits 3 years agone – and astir my family aesculapian history. My begetter died of a comparatively uncommon shape of liver cancer.

An eye-watering 8 vials of humor were past taken.

After this was each completed, I was told to expect my results wrong a fewer days, which would past beryllium followed by a telephone pinch a Randox clinician who would explicate nan findings.

For nan adjacent 48 hours I was a tense wreck.

What would hap if I was told I mightiness person nan early signs of nan deadly condition? Would I, for illustration Kate, person to statesman chemotherapy? What would I show my children?

When nan results arrived by email connected Wednesday, my tummy lurched. The email mentioned location were 7 markers which needed 'urgent attention' and that whitethorn require 'medical intervention'. Could this beryllium cancer?

However, aft reference further, I recovered that these were not suspected tumours – and were thing instantly dangerous. My cholesterin levels were somewhat raised, but that is thing I tin unrecorded with.

I didn't person crab - according to this trial astatine least.

I breathed a sigh of relief, particularly aft I saw that successful each different azygous metric, specified arsenic bosom and bony health, I was perfectly healthy.

Was it worthy it? I had surely fixed myself a bully scare – and paid a hefty value to do so. But I judge it was worthy each penny, fixed nan affirmative news.

I moreover scheme to person a tumour trial each twelvemonth now, which I will constitute disconnected successful my mind arsenic a benignant of 'reassurance tax'.

However, experts opportunity this isn't basal for everyone.

The astir important point anyone tin do is support a watchful oculus for immoderate unexpected bodily changes specified arsenic unexplained bumps aliases weight loss.

'You cognize your assemblage amended than anyone else,' says Professor Duffy. 'If you announcement immoderate changes, interaction your GP and get yourself checked.

'In nan immense mostly of cases, location will beryllium thing to interest about, but successful nan uncommon lawsuit wherever it is cancer, speedy action tin prevention your life.'