Does your family history of cancer make you worry about your own cancer risk?
Most cancers occur by chance, but some families experience more cancers than can be explained by chance alone. Consider the following family members on BOTH your MOTHER’s and your FATHER’s sides:
- You
- Your Mother and Father
- Your Sisters and Brothers
- Your Children
- Your Aunts and Uncles
- Your Cousins
- Your Nieces & Nephews
- Your Grandparents
- Your GREAT Grandparents
Now consider these questions:
- Have you had breast, uterine, or colon cancer before the age of 50?
- Has your mother, sister, or daughter been diagnosed with breast cancer before age 50?
- Has anyone had ovarian cancer?
- Have TWO of your family members been diagnosed with breast cancer and one of them diagnosed before age 50?
- Do you have THREE family members who have been diagnosed with breast cancer at any age?
- Has anyone in your family had two breast cancers?
- Has a male member of your family had breast cancer?
- Do you have someone with pancreatic cancer and another family member with ovarian or breast cancer on the same side of the family?
- Are you of Ashkenazi Jewish ancestry with a family member who has had breast, ovarian or pancreatic cancer?
- Is there a BRCA mutation in your family?
- Do you have two family members, one diagnosed earlier than age 50, with colon (colorectal), uterine/endometrial, ovarian, and/or stomach (gastric) cancer?
- Do you have THREE family members with colon (colorectal), uterine/endometrial, ovarian, and/or stomach (gastric) cancer?
If you answer YES to any of the above questions, you may be a candidate for genetic testing to see if you are at increased risk for a hereditary cancer. For those who qualify, many insurance companies are now covering the entire or most of the cost of testing.