Friday, December 12, 2008

If my grandmother had breast cancer, is there a risk i might get it

If my grandmother had breast cancer, is there a risk i might get it ?
She's a breast cancer survivor, by the way. :) I was just wondering if i might be at risk for breast cancer, if it runs in my family.
Cancer - 7 Answers
Random Answers, Critics, Comments, Opinions :
1 :
There is always a possibility of getting breast cancer, but your risk is higher if your relatives have had it. It really depends on if your grandmother's cancer was caused by genetic factors or not.
2 :
You would be at a higher risk if it ran in your family but less than 10% of breast cancers do. Having one family member with breast cancer is not reason to believe it is hereditary in your family, especially if she was over 50 when diagnosed. It sounds like you have the same risk as the rest of us.
3 :
70% of women who get breast cancer have no family history. Having one first-degree relative (mother, sister, or daughter) with breast cancer approximately doubles a woman's risk. Only 5 - 10% of all breast cancer cases are explained by an inherited genetic mutation. And some women who have inherited one of the so-called "breast cancer genes" that put them at increased risk of breast cancer, will never go on to develop the disease. Your grandmother, God love her, is not a first-degree relative.
4 :
I wouldn't worry about it. Don't get mammograms though and watch your diet. Processed foods suck as do microwaved foods. Eat fruits and veggies. Everybody's bodies in the USA are being filled with toxins with all of the garbage they put in our food now. Do a yearly cleanse of all of your major organs!
5 :
There probably is a higher risk for you to get it if your grandma had it. Check out cancer sites to learn more. cancer.org has a lot of info.
6 :
Hello Lauren: Yes you are at a higher risk. Any woman with a family history of breast cancer is at a higher risk. But from age 25 on you should get a mammogram or ultrasound done for a base line and than your doctor will tell you to get it done again at 30 and than 35 and every year after that. This is normal for those of us with a family history of breast cancer. Good luck and I pray you never get it.
7 :
From the information you've given here - no, you are not at any increased risk. Only 5 - 10% of all breast cancer cases are hereditary, due to a rare inherited faulty gene. As with other cancers, breast cancer that is diagnosed after the age of 50 is even less likely to be hereditary. And a single, isolated case of cancer in your family is not hereditary. If your grandmother's is the only case of breast cancer in your family, and especially if she was diagnosed after the age of 50, you are not at any increased risk. A sign that a type of cancer MAY be hereditary within a family is when several members of the same side of that family have had the same type of cancer, especially if some developed it at a younger than usual age

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