Cancer touches nearly every Australian, with 1 in 2 people facing a diagnosis by age 85. The ripple effects reach far beyond the individual, impacting families, friends and entire communities. Wendy Berril has felt these impacts in a big way from a young age.
Her father, a non-smoker, died of lung cancer when she was just 2 years old. A few years later, her brother passed away from leukemia at the age of 10. Other relatives on her dad's side died unexpectedly in their 30s from various cancers—breast, brain, bone.
It was clear that something wasn't right and her family was left wondering: "What could be going on here?" The answer came when one of her uncles opted for genetic testing that uncovered a condition known as Li-Fraumeni Syndrome. This hereditary cancer syndrome is caused by changes in the TP53 gene, a tumor suppressor gene that normally inhibits uncontrolled cell growth. When this gene doesn't function properly, as in Wendy's case, it results in a high risk of various childhood and adult-onset cancers.
Children of parents with Li-Fraumeni Syndrome have a one in two chance of inheriting the gene. Wendy's mother, who worked in pathology, recognized that this condition had likely affected both her late husband and son. Now, she faced the daunting prospect that Wendy might also be affected.
Cancers caused by Li-Fraumeni Syndrome can strike at any age but, thankfully, Wendy remained unaffected throughout her childhood. Her mother decided to wait until she was old enough.