First Inherited Cancers Awareness day
27 August 2025
Inherited Cancers Awareness Day (ICAD) seeks to bring visibility, voice, and validation to thousands of Australians silently living with inherited cancer risk.
Held for the first time today, the ICAD was established by Inherited Cancers Australia (ICA) and is also launched with support from Peter Mac.
"We are delighted to see this rising focus and community awareness of hereditary cancer risk,” says Professor Paul James, a Clinical Geneticist and Director of the Parkville Familial Cancer Centre – a joint service of Peter Mac and the Royal Melbourne Hospital.
“Establishing a national Inherited Cancers Awareness Day is a powerful step toward saving lives through education, early detection, and prevention."
The day highlights the pivotal role that genetic testing plays in identifying patients with inherited cancer risk, noting that early identification saves lives.
Genetic testing and surveillance allow individuals to manage their risk, detect cancer earlier, or prevent it altogether.
ICA is Australia's only national patient organisation dedicated to supporting these individuals and families.
Despite its generational impacts, ICA CEO Sarah Powell says the issue of inherited cancers remains mostly overlooked and exists outside of mainstream cancer conversations.
“Inherited cancers may be less common, but their impact is profound - often striking earlier in life, across multiple family members, and can be more aggressive and harder to treat,” Ms Powell says.
“Every day, we speak to Australians who are at risk, and we know they often face a hidden burden - undergoing regular scans, surgeries, and treatments to prevent cancer, while not being ‘sick’.”
Around 5 to 10% of all cancers are linked to such genes and, every year, up to 16,500 Australians are diagnosed with inherited cancers.
The most common inherited cancer is hereditary breast cancer, primarily caused by mutations in the BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes.
BRCA carriers having up to 70% lifetime chance of developing breast cancer and as high as 45% for ovarian cancer (BRCA1).
Up to 1 in 100 Australians live with an inherited gene variant that increases their cancer risk and these are people just like Jon, whose family carries the BRCA2 gene variant.
While known mostly for its impact on cancer risk in women, the BRCA2 variant also increases lifetime risk of aggressive prostate cancer, male breast cancer, and pancreatic cancer in men.
“My brother and I hoped that if anyone had to get it, it should be us, not our sister,” says Jon.
“Unfortunately, the results showed that all three of us carry the BRCA2 gene mutation.”
Jon says knowing he carries the BRCA2 variant has “motivated me to live a healthier life – regular exercise and a proper diet”.
“Having knowledge about my genetic mutation allows me to take action instead of waiting for something to happen. We have the chance to shape our family’s future.”
Read more about Jon who, along with others with inherited cancer risk, has shared his story to help raise awareness. Read more about the ICAD campaign on the Inherited Cancers Australia website.