Talk with a Doctor if Breast or Ovarian Cancer Runs in Your Family

If your family has a history of breast or ovarian cancer, talk with your doctor or nurse about it. You may be at higher risk of developing these and other types of cancer — or getting them again.

Keep in mind that anyone who has breasts can get breast cancer. That includes cisgender women (women assigned female at birth), transgender men, and nonbinary people assigned female at birth. (Cisgender men and other people assigned male at birth can also get breast cancer, but it's rare.)

Talk with your doctor about genetic counseling and genetic testing.

Genetic counseling and genetic testing for mutations (changes) in certain genes — including BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes — can help you understand your risk of certain types of cancer that can run in families.

Doctors don’t recommend genetic testing for everyone. Before a doctor recommends testing, you’ll usually have what’s called a risk assessment — you’ll meet with a genetic counselor or another health professional to talk about things like:

• Your health history
• People in your family who have had cancer
• What kind of cancer they had
• How old they were when they were diagnosed with cancer

That’s because certain patterns of cancer in 1 family — for example, breast cancer at an early age or multiple cases of breast and ovarian cancer — may suggest a harmful BRCA1 or BRCA2 gene mutation. 

What is genetic counseling?

Genetic counseling is when a trained health professional talks with you about your personal health history and your family's health history and helps you decide if genetic testing makes sense for you. Counseling can also help you understand your results if you decide to get tested.

Find out more about genetic counseling for breast and ovarian cancer.

What is genetic testing?

Genetic tests help doctors look for certain harmful mutations in genes that can run in families. Genetic testing can’t tell you whether you’ll get cancer, but it can show if you have a genetic mutation that raises your risk.

If you have one of these mutations in certain genes, including BRCA1 or BRCA2, you're more likely to develop breast cancer or ovarian cancer. You're also more likely to develop these cancers at a younger age, and you may be at higher risk of developing some other kinds of cancer.

The good news is you and your doctor can discuss options for managing your risk.

To learn more, check out:

• Genetic Testing FAQ
• BRCA1 and BRCA2 Gene Testing

Talk with your doctor about a breast cancer screening strategy that’s right for you.

If you have genetic mutations that raise your risk of breast cancer, you may choose a different screening strategy than what’s recommended for someone with average risk. For example, you may choose to:

• Start getting screened at a younger age
• Get screened more often
• Get screened with both mammograms and MRIs (a type of scan that creates detailed images of areas inside the body)  

The goal is to catch breast cancer early, when it may be easier to treat. Talk with your doctor about your screening strategy.

Ask if surgery or medicine could lower your breast cancer risk.

Some people with a higher risk of breast or ovarian cancer can have surgery to lower their risk. Learn about surgery to lower breast cancer risk.

Scientists are also studying certain medicines to find out if they can lower breast cancer risk in people who have a family history of breast cancer. Taking medicines to lower cancer risk is called chemoprevention. Learn about medicines that may lower breast cancer risk.

There are side effects and possible harms from both surgery and chemoprevention, so it’s important to talk with your doctor or nurse about your cancer risk and the different options.