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(NC)—When thinking about your chances of breast and ovarian cancer, it's important to consider your personal history as well as your family history, health professionals say. You may have a genetic predisposition to such a disease and once identified, you and your doctor can closely monitor your health for any pre-cancerous conditions.
If, for example, breast or ovarian cancer runs in your family, a genetic test will identify your personal risk for Hereditary Breast and Ovarian Cancer syndrome (HBOC). If you test positive for this condition, it indicates a harmful change (mutation) in the BRCA genes, putting you at increased risk.
“Inherited mutations in the BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes are responsible for approximately 7 to 10 per cent of all breast and ovarian cancers,” says Dr. Doug Tkachuk at LifeLabs, a leading diagnostic centre. “Women with BRCA mutations have a lifetime risk of breast cancer between 56 and 87 per cent, and a lifetime risk of ovarian cancer between 28 and 44 per cent. But patients with a strong family history of breast cancer who test 'negative', or show no mutations, are at no greater risk, or less risk, than the general population, which is 13 per cent.”
The HBOC test is recommended for women with a family history of breast or ovarian cancer; for patients who have already had breast or ovarian cancer (to assess the risk of a second cancer); and for patients with a blood relative known to have a BRCA gene abnormality. You are considered to have a significant family history if two or more of the following relatives have had breast cancer: your mother, sister(s), daughter(s), grandmother, aunt, first cousin, and in particular, any male relative, especially if he is less than 50 years of age.
Remain pro-active and consult your doctor about all the medical advancements available to you.
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