What does a formal risk assessment involve?

This process typically involves working through the following series of steps with a genetic counselor:

  • Education about breast and ovarian cancer and the factors that increase and decrease risk
  • Analysis of your family tree, showing the pattern of cancer in your family—who was affected and their ages at diagnosis
  • Education and counseling about genetic testing options (a blood test for inherited mutations in the genes known as BRCA1 and BRCA2)
  • Genetic testing, if appropriate
  • Discussion of the test results
  • Further counseling about special screening and risk-reduction options, if you are found to be high risk.

Reviewed by Jill Stopfer, MS

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *