Genetic Testing
Many women have someone in their family who has had breast cancer; this can happen by chance, as the disease is so common. Family
history becomes more important when there are more relatives with breast cancer on the same side of the family, especially if the cancer occurs in a woman before 50 years of age. Most women will not develop breast cancer, even if they have a close relative with breast cancer.
Rarely, breast cancer can be caused by a fault in a gene, known as the BRCA1 or BRCA2 gene, which can be passed within families from one generation to another. These gene faults can be inherited from either the mother’s or the father’s side of the family. If you have a strong family history of breast cancer, your doctor may refer you to a specialist family cancer clinic for an assessment and advice about genetic testing.
Press the icon on the left to download a brochure collated by the Centre for Genetic Education.
Understanding genetic tests for breast and ovarian cancer that runs in the family-
Information and decision aid
Please read through the topics on the left to gain information on genetic testing.
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