Genetic Counseling for Hereditary Breast and Ovarian Cancer

Overview

If you have a personal or family health history of breast or ovarian cancer that indicates that you could have a BRCA1, BRCA2, or other inherited mutation, your doctor may refer you for genetic counseling. Understanding and dealing with a strong family health history of breast or ovarian cancer can be challenging for you and your family. Genetic counselors can help by providing information, resources, genetic testing options, and support to you and your family.

How it works

The genetic counselor or other health care provider will collect a detailed medical and family health history. Genetic counseling can provide answers to questions like the following:

• Do you have an increased risk for breast, ovarian, or other cancers because of your personal or family health history?
• What are the BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes and how do they relate to cancer?
• Could the breast, ovarian, or other cancers that run in your family be due to a mutation in BRCA1, BRCA2, or other gene?
• What are the chances that you have a BRCA1, BRCA2, or other inherited mutation?
• If you have a BRCA1, BRCA2, or other inherited mutation, what is the chance you will get breast or ovarian cancer?
• How will the results of genetic testing for hereditary breast and ovarian cancer affect you and your family members?
• Who in your family should be the first to have genetic testing for hereditary breast and ovarian cancer?
• How accurate is genetic testing for hereditary breast and ovarian cancer?
• What are the possible results of genetic testing for hereditary breast and ovarian cancer, and what do they mean?
• What are the potential risks and limitations of genetic testing for hereditary breast and ovarian cancer?
• How will knowing if you have a BRCA1, BRCA2, or other inherited mutation help you to lower your risks for cancer?
• If you have already had breast or ovarian cancer, how will knowing if you have a BRCA1, BRCA2, or other inherited mutation affect your treatment plan?
• If you have already had breast or ovarian cancer, what are the chances that you will get cancer again?

Following the genetic counseling session, you may decide you don't want genetic testing or that it is unlikely to be helpful for you or your family. Most cases of breast and ovarian cancer are not caused by inherited mutations, so genetic testing will not help most women with a family health history of breast and ovarian cancer. Also, genetic testing will not find causes for all hereditary breast and ovarian cancers.

If you decide to have genetic testing for hereditary breast or ovarian cancer, additional genetic counseling following the testing can help you better understand the meaning of your test results. Genetic counseling and testing may be covered by insurance. Check with your insurance provider to determine your coverage.

Additional resources

For an overview of the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (GINA) which protects Americans undergoing genetic testing from discrimination, click here.