Suffolk lorry driver's 'ticking time-bomb' breast cancer gene

Ms Jobsz said she knew she needed to have a pre-emptive operation as the risk of getting cancer was too great

A lorry driver who found out she carries a breast cancer gene has opted to have a double mastectomy and is urging people to check their breasts.

Yasmin Jobsz, 26, from Eye in Suffolk, found out she had the BRCA2 gene mutation after her father was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2014.

As it can significantly increase the risk, she has been waiting for surgery in the hope it will prevent the cancer.

She said she felt like the gene was "a ticking time-bomb".

She inherited the gene from her father, Ray Jobsz, whose own breast cancer was found purely by chance.

He had been hit in the chest by a box, while moving it, and later noticed something seeping from his chest.

Mr Jobsz consulted doctors and breast cancer was diagnosed. After having a mastectomy, he is now clear of the cancer.

Lorry driver Yasmin Jobsz is encouraging men to check their breasts after her own father got breast cancer

Speaking about her decision to have a preventative double mastectomy, Ms Jobsz said: "I knew straight away - as soon as I got gene-tested and I knew that I had it [the gene], there wasn't any doubt, I knew that I wanted to have it done.

"I felt like it was a ticking time-bomb.

"I knew potentially this could kill me and if I don't remove the risk - I just couldn't deal with that."

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Her operation has been put back several years.

Initially it was delayed when she became pregnant, then further delayed during the pandemic.

"If dad hadn't lifted that box up, he wouldn't have checked and he wouldn't have been here today," Ms Jobsz said.

"I speak with a lot of men through trucking and through work, and not many of them check - they wouldn't think to.

"So definitely - for guys - check - and for women, too, but I think women are a lot more open to the idea of it whereas men would probably dismiss the idea."

Ms Jobsz has also been fundraising for the charity Breast Cancer Now.

"I am all for dealing with things head-on and turning negatives into positives," she said.

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