Needing guidance

tuckerkathyl · July 2015

my mom was diagnosed with breast cancer in her early 50's. She recently told me that I was suppose to start early mammograms at 25 because the type of cancer she had was most common in younger ages. She never told me that until now. I am 40 and just had my first scare. My first mammogram they found a lump. So far so good, but she was unable to remember whether they did BRCA testing. She had all of this done in Hawaii 20 years ago and now lives in KY. My father had prostate cancer and my brother has had thyroid cancer. So hormone cancers are high risk for us. Any guidance for me would be appreciated.

614 · July 2015

Dear TuckerKathyI:

Is everything ok for you with the lump that was detected on your mammogram?

You may want to consider having genetic testing for peace of mind. However, genetic testing is very expensive if you don't meet the criteria that the insurance companies set. Since you have close relatives with cancer, you may fall within the guidelines to have the BRCA 1 and 2 tests, as well as the entire panel of genetic tests.

Good luck.

MelissaDallas · July 2015

The fact that your mom was in her 50s makes it a lot less likely that it is a genetic syndrome related cancer and more likely sporadic. Fewer than 10% are estimated to be genetic.

Ddw79 · July 2015

I am on my second round of genetic testing. It's really not that expensive. I just sent in a sample to Color Genomics. It costs $ 250 for their review of 19 of the most prominent mutations for breast and ovarian. With my current ADH and highly disastrous family history. I am going to push for BMX if I get a positive returned .

Needing guidance

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