Should I ask father to do Braca testing?

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pringles1
pringles1 Member Posts: 59

Ive been wonderng about this for about 2 months..never new my father at all until aoubt 1995.  And I never really asked much about family health history other than  heart issues. He has 9 siblings, Four of them died of heart attacks and  stroke raning in age from 36-62 so I figured somewhere down the line I might share the same fate.  He did mention he had prostate cancer... I finally did ask after I got my DX and he has one sister who had BC, about 60 she diagnosed.. her treatment was a mastectomy  and he cant remember if she had any other treatment...

It doesnt look like it might be in the family genes ( just the three of us) but I worry about my daughters. Is it worth while to either ask my father if he could talk it or try and see if my MO  would order it?

Comments

  • barbe1958
    barbe1958 Member Posts: 19,757
    edited April 2009

    You could take the test. Your father doesn't have to. If he is positive, that doesn't mean you will be. Could your daughter take the test? How old is she? 

  • lvtwoqlt
    lvtwoqlt Member Posts: 6,162
    edited April 2009

    When my mother went for genetic counseling prior to her brca testing they told her that it is best to do the testing to the person who has been diagnosed with breast cancer. She did the testing and had a negative result. Her sister died from ovarian cancer at age 37, and two uncles with prostate and bladder or kidney cancer that is why she wanted the test. If she tested positive then I would have done the test to see if I was positive. Since she was negative, my doctor said there was no reason to test me since I didn't get the gene from that side of the family, and there isn't cancer in the 1st or 2nd degree relatives (aunt/uncles/grandparents) on my father's side of the family.

    Sheila

  • pringles1
    pringles1 Member Posts: 59
    edited April 2009

    Barbe1958 and Lvtwoqlt--

     Thank you both very much for your reply. My daughters are 25 and 27. I will be talking to my MO to try and get the test done.

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