Family history risk question

when they talk about strong family history, they are usually referring to several primary relatives with bc; primary being mother, sister or daughter. Your grandmother's 4 sisters (great-aunts) would not be considered primary relatives, but it is certainly something to let your docs know about. Your mom's history of lung cancer would not impact your risk for bc.

 My MGGM had bc, my MGM had colon ca, my mom has had both bc and colon ca, and I have LCIS; I have not been tested yet for BRCA as I'm probably at low risk per my oncologist, but I may go for genetic counseling in the near future.  There may be some other bc gene in my family. 

In addition to the list that leaf provided, the other risk factor that ties to the BRCA genetic mutation is prostate cancer among the men in the family. 

A few things to consider:

• It sounds as though it's possible that the BRCA mutation may have been in your grandmother's family, but that doesn't mean that your grandmother had the gene.  It's not unusual for some siblings to carry the mutation while others don't.  This is common, actually.  That's because this particular gene is inherited from either one's mother or one's father.  So let's say that your great-grandmother carried the gene.  She may have passed it along to half of her children, including your grandmother's 4 sisters.  But the other half of the children, including your grandmother, may have inherited this particular gene from their father.  So they got the healthy gene.  If that's the case, then your grandmother would not be able to pass the gene to your mother, and therefore, to you.  Other branches of the family may be affected but your branch may be spared.  Since the risk to get BC is so high for anyone who carries the genetic mutation, I'd say that since neither your grandmother nor your mother had breast cancer, it's doubtful that the genetic mutation is present.
• One other thing to keep in mind as you evaluate your genetic risk is that you have to look at both your mother's side of the family, and your father's side of the family.  If you have aunts, cousins or a grandmother on your father's side who's had BC or ovarian cancer, that could be sign of risk.  Similarly, you'll want to look to see if any of the men (on either side of the family) have had prostate cancer.
• The last thing to keep in mind is that while we all worry about our genetic risk to get breast cancer, the fact is that the vast majority of breast cancer cases (approx. 80%+) are not caused by genetics.  So even if it's determined that you are not at risk because of family history, this doesn't mean that you won't or can't get breast cancer.  You may have personal risk factors (dense breasts, age at which you got your periods, etc.) and even if you don't, you still need to be sure to get regular mammograms and to do breast self-exams.

All that said, if you are wondering about your family history risk, the best idea is to meet with a genetic counsellor.  They can advise you as to whether they think you might be at risk or not, and if so, whether it makes sense to be tested for the BRCA genetic mutation.

One of the first questions I've been asked is "any family history?" and I say no, but not much of family to check. I have one sibling - male - no aunts, one uncle, one cousin - male. Therefore, the likelihood of a family history is severely limited. Besides, only 20% of BC patients have family history.

Anne

One sister(there were 4 girls in my immediate family) and I were both diagnosed with IC within 5 months of each other (ages 41 and 46) I met with a genetic counselor and decided to do BRCA studies.  I had a "variation" (vs. mutation) of BRCA2 only seen in one other patient.  They requested additional studies from my diagnosed sister and father as his family history warranted it.  Both had the same "variation" which led to the belief that this would most probably reveal as a "future" mutation as more and more people were mapped.   Family history was extensively positive for prostate (4 men), colon & breat (1 PA -BC <age 50, CC in 70's), stomach (PGm) and pancreatic (PA)- all reflective of a BRCA2 problem.  Based upon this information, I opted for prophylactic removal of breasts and ovaries, my sister did not.  I am now over 6 years cancer free.  By the time my sister decided to go the mastectomy route it was too late, she developed IBC.  Genetic testing can be a great tool to decide treatment courses.  I will never know if I had chosen any other option if my cncer would have grown more, but that is OK with me.  I plan on seeing grandbabies some day! 

Common beliefs even among oncologists used to be that  paternal genetics are not related to a woman's BC.  Geneticist will tell you that simply is not true.  I would encourage any one to seek genetic input if they are considering it.  I never knew so many cancers were related to those genes.

Barbie--I'm familiar with the BRCA2/pancreatic/breast link, as my dad was an Ashkenazi Jew who died of pancreatic cancer. The docs all thought I'd be BRCA2 for sure, but it came back negative. Go figure.

I had an onc tell me today that even though my BRCA testing came back negative, to keep myself educated of new advances in BRCA mutations. She said there could be a need to retest in the future, due to potential new discoveries in the BRCA gene family. 

Barbie,

I hope you had your questions answered already.  I am sorry I have not been back to the site in 10 days.  My doc says the BRAC2 pancreatic/colon connection is stronger in the BRCA2.  The lymphomas and leukemias are not connected to the BRCA genes.

Hope things are going well for you,

Sharon

I think its an excellent idea for you to let it rest for a while until you decide what is best for you. Do what is best for you at YOUR pace.