The BRCA1 and BRCA2 gene mutations are often referenced when discussing cancer risk. The chance of having one of the mutations is about one in 400 in the general population, but for one group of people, that risk is significantly higher: one in 40. A Boston-area mom has made it her mission to make sure people are aware.Lauren Corduck calls herself a cancer thriver. She knew a family history of breast cancer put her at higher risk of developing the disease and started getting mammograms at 22 years old."I would just come home and just wait to find out, and I just thought, 'Maybe this will be the time,'" Corduck said. But she didn't know another factor raised that risk even higher. Lauren has Eastern European or Ashkenazi Jewish heritage and that trait dramatically increases the risk of a having a BRCA gene mutation."For those of Ashkenazi Jewish descent, Eastern European Jewish descent, the risk may be as high as one in 40," said Dr. Leif Ellisen, director of breast medical oncology at Massachusetts General Hospital's Cancer Center.Ellisen said the Ashkenazi descendants have such a high risk because the group was cohesive."For thousands of years, those mutations have essentially stayed in the population," Ellisen said.The BRCA gene mutations increase the risk of women developing breast cancer by around 80 percent and ovarian cancer by up to 40 percent, meaning awareness can be essential. "(Women) should consider being tested around age 25 because that is the age at which we start screening, doing particular screening and follow-ups for breast cancers if a mutation is found," Ellisen said.Despite Corduck's ethnic background, her doctors never suggested enhanced screening. In 2016, at the urging of a friend, she was tested and diagnosed with a BRCA mutation. Several weeks later, she was diagnosed with stage 4 ovarian cancer."If I had found out, say, 10 years ago that I'm BRCA positive, so many things would have been different," Corduck said.Corduck went through chemotherapy and surgery, and instead of getting angry, she got active.She founded a nonprofit organization called OneInForty, focused on raising awareness of this risk for both men and women with similar heritage.The group hosts symposiums with local experts in the field and offers support to others diagnosed with the mutations."It fuels me on a daily basis. To know that I can do a little something about it couldn't be more gratifying," Corduck said.Corduck had been on a new class of drugs meant to prevent her cancer from coming back but last week, scans revealed a 2-centimeter tumor in her brain, likely metastasized ovarian cancer. She had successful surgery in mid-January to remove it and said she is more determined than ever to spread the message of OneInForty.