When is breast cancer hereditary

The staff at the breast clinic or genetics clinic can work out your risk of developing breast cancer and advise you whether you might need extra screening. Factors that increase the risk of breast cancer include getting older and inherited faulty genes. Read about these and other risk factors.

Genes can affect cancer risk, and some can be tested for. Breast cancer is cancer that starts in the breast tissue. Find out about who gets breast cancer and where it starts.

Symptoms of breast cancer include a lump or thickening in the breast. Find out more about this and other possible symptoms and when you should see your GP. About Cancer generously supported by Dangoor Education since Questions about cancer? But women who have close blood relatives with breast cancer have a higher risk:. A woman with cancer in one breast has a higher risk of developing a new cancer in the other breast or in another part of the same breast.

This is different from a recurrence or return of the first cancer. Although this risk is low overall, it's even higher for younger women with breast cancer. Overall, white women are slightly more likely to develop breast cancer than African American women, although the gap between them has been closing in recent years.

In women under age 45, breast cancer is more common in African American women. African American women are also more likely to die from breast cancer at any age. Asian, Hispanic, and Native American women have a lower risk of developing and dying from breast cancer. Risk in different groups also varies by type of breast cancer. For example, African American women are more likely to have the less common triple-negative breast cancer.

Many studies have found that taller women have a higher risk of breast cancer than shorter women. Breasts are made up of fatty tissue, fibrous tissue, and glandular tissue. Breasts appear denser on a mammogram when they have more glandular and fibrous tissue and less fatty tissue.

Unfortunately, dense breast tissue can also make it harder to see cancers on mammograms. A number of factors can affect breast density, such as age, menopausal status, the use of certain drugs including menopausal hormone therapy , pregnancy, and genetics.

To learn more, see our information on breast density and mammograms. Women diagnosed with certain benign non-cancer breast conditions may have a higher risk of breast cancer. Some of these conditions are more closely linked to breast cancer risk than others.

Current U. Screening options may change over time as new methods are developed and more is learned about HBOC. Talk with your health care team about appropriate screening tests for you. Learn more about what to expect when having common tests, procedures, and scans. If you are concerned about your risk of cancer, talk with your health care team. It can be helpful to bring someone along to your appointments to take notes. Consider asking your health care team the following questions:.

What can I do to reduce my risk of cancer? If you are concerned about your family history and think your family may have HBOC, consider asking the following questions:. Does my family history increase my risk of breast cancer, ovarian cancer, or other types of cancer? Should I consider genetic testing? The Genetics of Cancer.

Genetic Testing. Collecting Your Family Cancer History. Young Survival Coalition. National Ovarian Cancer Coalition. John W. To find a genetic counselor in your area, ask your health care team or visit the following website:. National Society of Genetic Counselors. What is Hereditary Breast and Ovarian Cancer? How is HBOC inherited? Can HBOC be avoided? How common is HBOC? Who should be tested for HBOC? Here are some important definitions to know: "First-degree relatives" include parents, siblings, and children.

Other cancer risks for people with HBOC Anyone with mutations in the BRCA2 gene may be at an increased risk of other types of cancer, including melanoma and pancreatic, stomach , esophageal , and bile duct cancers.

Chemoprevention Cancer chemoprevention is the use of drugs to stop or keep cancer from developing. What are the screening options for HBOC? It is important to talk with your health care team about the following screening options, as each person is different: Screening for women with a BRCA1 or BRCA2 gene mutation Monthly breast self-examinations, beginning at age 18 Clinical breast examinations performed twice a year by a health care team or nurse, beginning at age 25 Yearly magnetic resonance imaging MRI scans of both breasts, between ages 25 and Yearly mammogram and breast MRI, between ages 30 and Consideration of prophylactic salpingo-oophorectomy, between ages 35 and 40, and once a woman is done giving birth to children Screening for men with a BRCA1 or BRCA2 gene mutation Monthly breast self-examinations, beginning at age 35 Yearly clinical breast examinations, beginning at age 35 Consider a baseline mammogram at age 35 for men with a BRCA2 gene mutation, if there is gynecomastia, meaning swelling of the breast tissue in boys or men, or if enough breast tissue is present for mammogram Yearly prostate cancer screening with digital rectal exam and PSA blood test, beginning at age Questions to ask the health care team If you are concerned about your risk of cancer, talk with your health care team.