Genetic Counseling for Breast Cancer

Genetic Counseling for Breast Cancer

The Cancer Genetics Program is a combined effort between Northwestern Medicine and Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center of Northwestern University. This program provides risk assessment and management recommendations for people at increased risk for developing cancer due to their personal or family history.

Genetic counseling can help you understand your personal and family risk for cancer, especially breast cancer. Since genetic testing often shows that there is no specific genetic explanation for cancer patterns in a particular family, genetic counseling is also helpful in understanding the meaning of a test result that does not show any mutations.

Two gene mutations, BRCA1 and BRCA2, put people at higher risk of breast cancer:

• Women who inherit mutations in the BRCA1 or BRCA2 genes have a 56% to 87% risk of developing breast cancer by the age of 70.
• These mutations also result in an increased risk of breast cancer in men, particularly the BRCA2 gene, with a lifetime risk near 10%.

It’s important to note that some people who have BRCA1 or BRCA2 gene mutations never get any type of cancer.

A blood test can determine whether you carry the BRCA1 or BRCA2 gene. Deciding what to do with that information, however, can be tough. Northwestern Medicine genetic counselors can help you make choices that are right for you.