The Basics
Talk to your doctor if you have a family history of breast or ovarian cancer. You may be at higher risk for getting these types of cancer.
There are steps you can take to help prevent breast and ovarian cancer. Start by understanding your cancer risk with this tool.
Talk with your doctor about genetic testing and counseling.
Genetic tests help doctors look for changes (or mutations) in your genes. If you have changes in some genes, called BRCA1 and BRCA2, you are more likely to get breast or ovarian cancer.
Genetic counseling and testing can help you understand your chances of getting cancer. Talk with your doctor about genetic testing if:
- 2 or more of your close relatives (such as parents, sisters, or children) have had breast or ovarian cancer
- A close family member had breast cancer before age 50
- A family member had both breast and ovarian cancer
- You have Eastern European Jewish heritage
Genetic testing can help you make the best decisions about your health. Learn more about genetic testing:
Drugs can reduce breast cancer risk.
If you are at high risk of getting breast cancer, you can take drugs to help lower your risk. This is called chemo (kee–moe) prevention.
There are 2 drugs approved by the FDA, tamoxifen and raloxifene, that may help reduce your risk of getting breast cancer. Scientists are still studying these drugs to find out if they reduce breast cancer risk in women with BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutations.
There are side–effects and possible risks from taking these drugs, so it’s important to talk to your doctor about your cancer risk and your prevention options.
Learn more about chemoprevention:
Take Action!
Start by talking to a doctor about your cancer risk.
Talk with a doctor about your family health history.
Fill out this
family health history chart [PDF – 1.71 MB], and take it with you to the doctor. The chart will help you find common diseases that run in your family.
Ask questions.
You may want to ask the doctor or genetic counselor the following questions:
- Do I need genetic counseling?
- What are my chances of having an altered (changed) gene that could increase my risk of cancer?
- Besides altered genes, what are the other things that increase my risk for breast and ovarian cancer?
- What types of cancer screenings are recommended if I decide not to do genetic testing?
- If I get tested, who will be able to see my test results?
Be prepared.
If you are thinking about genetic testing for breast or ovarian cancer, first think about what you will learn and
how it will affect you and your family. 
Here are some questions to think about:
- If I get tested, will I be more worried about getting sick?
- Will I share the test results with my spouse or partner? My children? Family and friends? How will they react to the news?
- Are my children ready to learn new information that may one day affect their health?