Do I have a high risk of breast cancer?

kara701

I am worried I may get breast cancer. My mom was diagnosed with Stage III Breast Cancer at 33 years old 6 years ago. She underwent extensive treatment, including chemotherapy, radiation, removal of her ovaries, & more. She has been taking tamoxifen for over 5 years and was recently told she had to take it for another 5. I did not know we had a family history of breast cancer on my mother's side because we are estranged from them. We found out that my great-grandma and six cousins have died from breast cancer. Two other cousins got breast cancer as well but have survived it, like my mom. We are waiting for the results on further genetic testing. So far I know of these 9 people and my mom. Considering I have 10 family members, one immediate family, that has had this disease, 7 of 10 died from it, how much higher is my risk? Especially because my mom got it at such a young age. My mom tested negative for the BRCA1 gene. I know age and other things play a large role in risk, but knowing that many people in my family have gotten the disease, is my risk considerably large?

Moderators

Hi Kara, welcome to Breastcancer.org. We hope you'll find the information and support you're seeking here.

Until other members come along to post with their personal experiences and advice, we recommend you to read through the pages of the section Understanding Breast Cancer Risk and How to Lower It from our main site. Also, maybe scheduling an appointment with your doctor will hopefully help you understand the risks for women with a strong family history of breast cancer like yours.

Best wishes,

The Mods

Ddw79

Good idea on your part for being proactive. I also have a significant family history . My family was tested in 1991 when BRCA 1 just became available. Family member positive, me negative . I thought end of story . Fast forward twenty years . I now had biopsy and significant elevated risk . I'm going to do now even more genetic testing before making decision about double pmx. I would suggest same for you. It is not just a coinicidence. I am getting a second round of testing. You might to

theresa45

I am also BRACA negative, but have a very significant family history of breast cancer. I was diagnosed with IDC at age 44, about the same age as my mother. Due to our strong family history, my sister is now eligible to have yearly MRIs to screen for breast cancer. You may want to ask your OBGYN/doctor about MRIs. Best wishes...

inks

BRCA is very rare and you usually have someone in the haystack with ovarian cancer ( a clear marker for genetic counseling). You may have some other mutation in another gene, if your mom was tested for other mutations than just BRCA and comes back positive then you should be tested. Breast cancer is the most common women's cancer so a lot of people get it even without genetic predisposition. With so many family members diagnosed with breast cancer you are at risk for familiar breast cancer but that is different from genetic mutation. You do need close surveillance because of your family history.

Lyndsey

I have a strong history of BC. My mother had a mastectomy in her 40s and pancreatic cancer, my maternal grandmother had a double mastectomy and died of BC, and my sister has had BC. I also have dense breast tissue and am on replacement hormone therapy. Now I just found out that I have a NBN gene mutation. Does this mutation mean that I have a high risk for BC even though it increases chances by only 30%? Does this mutation combined with the other risk factors make it likely that I should have chemoprevention or preventative mastectomy? Or is that NBN gene mutation manageable without chemoprevention of preventative mastectomy? I have a meeting with genetic counselor and doctor next week.

Ddw79

I don't know about the genetics but I would be very cautious with the hormone replacement therapy. I took it because I really had to after an oophorectomy and I think it may have caused my current problem( ADH). I hope you can consult your docs and find a different and safer path especially with that history .