is there family history?

Under the circumstances you have described it is possible that there is a connection.. I have a dx of DCIS and my daughter (who is in her late 20s) will not be genetically tested because I was tested for BRCA 1/2 and it was negative.. It would be great if your Mom would have the genetic testing (simple albeit expensive blood test) for BRCA 1/2 and I believe they also test for one more gene now.. If she is negative and you don't have any history of cancer on your dad's side chances are you are OK and it's easier for your Mom to be tested and actually it is recommended that the primary family member with bc be tested anyway.. So ask you Mom if you can.. I did the BRCA 1/2 because my daughter's primary care doc heard about our family history and asked her to ask me and frankly I would do anything for my kids so I did.  Surprisingly and although all of my tests had been negative (mammo's) up until the genetic counselor suggested the breast MRI and it came back with a positive area of concern.. My daughter saved my life by suggesting that I be tested.. This is a bit off target for you but I hope you see my point..  Good luck and I hope, if you do ask your mom to do genetic testing, she comes back negative..  Although that doesn't remove you from bc concerns it does reduce them and maybe put you at east long enough to get your family in place.. BEST!

Breast cancer and prostate cancer both of can be signs of the BRCA genetic mutation.   The oral cancer is unlikely to be connected.  Here is some information about the BRCA mutation:

http://cancer.stanford.edu/information/geneticsAndCancer/types/herbocs/

Most breast cancer - about 85% - is not genetic, although in all likelihood there are genes that are yet to be discovered so it could that the % that's genetic may be higher than currently believed. Although there is some cancer in your family, there really isn't a lot, especially when you consider that 1 out of every 2 men and 1 out of every 3 women will likely get cancer during their lifetime.  So 3 cases isn't much.  Still, having both breast cancer and prostate cancer in one generation might raise a question so you may want to talk to a genetic counsellor.  He or she can give you an idea of your risk level and indicate whether you are high enough risk to warrant taking a BRCA test (or ideally, having your mother take it, as Deirdre suggested).  Then you still have the option to choose to take the test or not.  But seeing a counsellor is the best way to get the information that you are looking for.

I didn't say she was too old-merely that most genetic cancers tend to present at a younger age.Granted the prostate cancer could be linked, but not the oral.I think the genetic link would be more likely if a grandparent had had a cancer, but as this wasn't mentioned, I'm assuming (perhaps wrongly?), that nobody from that generation was affected.

As for me-I was diagnosed 5 years ago with BRCA2, and following on from that,all family members have been/are being tested. My daughter too has the gene misprint-as have several cousins.

BRCA-1 is a mutation of a tumor suppressor gene and therefore can manifest in many varieties of cancers, especially in men who are carriers.

Long story... 

My sister was the only relative who had had breast cancer, until me. I was diagnosed at 49. All my maternal aunts and uncles (and mother) were alive and cancer free. My maternal grandparents had died of heart attacks at an advanced age. A cursory evaluation would not reflect any family history.

With only one first degree relative with breast cancer and no aunts or grandparents showing up, I almost didn't get approval for testing. But I persisted - I was triple negative and my sister's cancer had been hormone negative and also premenopausal to boot. Fortunately we have family records that revealed I was the first woman in my paternal line to live past the age of 35 in hundreds of years. My grandfather's mother (and three of her sisters) died before 34 but only had sons. One of whom was my grandfather, who also only had sons. One of whom was my dad - who had three daughters and a son.

My paternal grandfather lived to be 90 - but passed the gene down through his son - who died at 46 from melanoma. It was considered a 100% service-related disability/death as he was an officer who was at sea a lot of his career. Who woulda thought it was a BRCA gene at work?

Only because I was able to convince my genetic counselor to take into consideration distant paternal relatiions was I able to get the testing that, as I expected, came back positive. I would encourage your mother to be tested. Barring that - you need to at least have a consultation with a genetic counselor. "The doctors" cannot perform the thorough evaluation that a genetics specialist can - their specialties are surgery or oncology. Your results can have a bearing on your treatment.

Hoping you test negative, but hoping you do test,

Lisa

Vivo, isolated cases from another branch of  a family can't really be added into the equation. Most families have experience of cancer+/or deaths from cancer, as it's such a prevalent disease. The fact that your m.i.l died form BC again  doesn't automatically imply that there is a genetic misprint in the family, as  the vast majority of BC cases are not genetic. The main criteria for suspecting genetic BC are if-

4 relatives from same side(ie, from exclusively either  your Mum or Dad's branch) with BC/ovarian at any age,

3 relatives  from same side, aged under 60

2 relatives from same side under 40

Even factoring in the possible connection from the prostate cancer, you still only have your Mum, and possibly uncle , as a potentially suspicious genetic BC.

I feel that you want to pursue this, and in order to give you peace of mind, then it may be worth putting this into motion asap. But please try not to worry excessively. Of course there is a chance that there's a link-can I ask if either of your Mum's parents had BC, as this would clarify the issue slightly. If neither of them did have a BC diagnosis then it's unlikely that a genetic misprint would have been passed onwards from them to your Mum's generation. For this to be the case, then the inference is that they died form other causes, without being aware that they had BC. Not imposssible, but rather unlikley.

Just trying to view this dilemna from all angles-am not saying that you shouldn't be concerned and make further enquiries-but as Beesie said, the incidence of cancer in your family is not excessively high. In the meantime, if you can collate as much information as possible, putting into a family tree, then this will help in the original assessment, should you decide to go ahead. Good luck-and hoping that any tests return negative. Best wishes too, to your Mum at this tough time for her..just one final thought (sorry!). If your Mum is undergoing treatment at present, this type of testing might be quite upsetting for her at the moment, so waiting for a few months might be an idea?

Good for you Vivo! But you know with all the progress there is being made in the genetic field, I think you could take comfort form the fact that if you did have children, by the time that they were old enough for any gene misprint to possibly affect them, there's every hope that the experts will have found some way of eradicating it. It all sounds a bit like science fiction at the moment, but it's a field which is bringing huge progress on a regular basis.

You commented about the baby born here, and I'm not meaning that level of manipulation/screening (this made me rather uncomfortable if truth be told) . But the hope is that in the future if a gene is passed on, then it can be eliminated. If you want a family soon-then go ahead and do so . There may be little that this generation can do to avoid it at the moment, but subsequent generations will have access to therapies today which will be far reaching. Without wishing to worry you further-don't forget that a potential BRCA mutation is only one of the huge range of genes that we pass on to our children, and realistically we don't spend time worrying about every other potential genetic problem/issue we may pass on. So, you're absolutely right to pursue it further, but please don't let it dominate your thoughts excessively, and enjoy instead your plans for the future!

Being BRCA1 or 2 means that the gene that stops cells multiplication doesn't do its job properly. So ounce the body tries to defend itself, it won't stop.....so cancer can hit anywhere.

Dont want to scare anybody but these are the facts! 

I've never had it, but I understand that in the US it ordinarily takes about a month?  I think you can send more money for a faster job (like 2 weeks?)

I think I read one poster from ? Australia where it took over a year.

I hope someone who has had it done will correct me if I'm wrong.

I hope you can still enjoy your birthday.