Women without a BRCA1 or BRCA2 mutation have a 12 percent risk of developing breast cancer in their lifetime. If you have one of these mutations, that risk jumps to somewhere between 40 and 85 percent. Men’s risk of breast cancer also increases when there is a BRCA abnormality.
If you have been told you have a BRCA mutation, you probably have a whole lot of feelings and thoughts running through your mind. Should you have a preventative mastectomy? Do you want breast reconstruction? What sort of monitoring will you undergo? Do you already have breast cancer and don’t know it?
Cancer is a scary word, there’s no doubt. Being told you’re more likely to develop cancer can feel overwhelming. Take a deep breath and know that you are not alone. Secondly, you are not powerless. There are choices you can make to drastically impact your likelihood of developing cancer. We’ve put together quite a few articles for you to help work through some of these issues.
Have questions we’ve not answered? Let us know.
