The Basics: Overview
If your family has a history of breast or ovarian cancer, talk with your doctor or nurse about it. You may be at higher risk for developing these and other types of cancer.
Talk with your doctor about genetic counseling and testing.
Genetic counseling and genetic testing can help you understand your risk for certain types of cancer that can run in families.
Doctors don’t recommend genetic testing for all women, but you may want to talk about it with your doctor if you have:
- A family member who had breast cancer before age 50
- A family member who had cancer in both breasts
- A family member who had both breast and ovarian cancer
- A male family member who had breast cancer
- Two or more family members who had breast or ovarian cancer
- Eastern European (Ashkenazi) Jewish heritage
Genetic testing can’t tell you if you will get cancer or not, but it can show if you have a genetic change that puts you at higher risk. If so, you and your doctor can discuss options for managing your risk.
The Basics: Counseling and Testing
What is genetic counseling?
Genetic counseling is when a trained health professional talks with you about your family health history and helps you decide if genetic testing makes sense for you.
Find out more about genetic counseling for breast and ovarian cancer.
What is genetic testing?
Genetic tests help doctors look for mutations (changes) in your genes. If you have a mutation in certain genes, such as BRCA1 or BRCA2, you are more likely to develop breast and ovarian cancer. You may also be more likely to develop some other kinds of cancer.
To learn more, check out:
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Managing Risk
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Overview
The Basics: Managing Risk
Medicine or surgery may help lower your breast cancer risk.
Some women with a higher risk of getting breast cancer can take drugs (medicine) that may help lower their risk. This is called chemoprevention (“KEE-moh-pree-VEN-shun”).
Scientists are still studying these drugs to find out if they can lower breast cancer risk in women with BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutations. Learn more about drugs that can reduce breast cancer risk.
Some women with a higher risk of breast or ovarian cancer can get surgery to lower their risk. Learn more about surgery to reduce breast cancer risk.
There are side effects and possible risks from both surgery and medicines, so it’s important to talk with your doctor or nurse about your cancer risk and your prevention options.