Wednesday, November 12, 2008

What are the chances of me getting breast cancer


What are the chances of me getting breast cancer?
My grandma and mother both got diagnosed with breast cancer when they were 33, and my grandma only had it once, but my mother had it four times. i heard it was gentic, and i am wondering if maybe there is an oncologist that would know what my chances are. my grandma and mother both lived through all cancer(s). I am 12 right now. oh crap, are you serious, will i most likely get it?
Cancer - 7 Answers
Random Answers, Critics, Comments, Opinions :
1 :
About 76 to77 percent!
2 :
I think its around what the first answerer said but im not sure.. What you need to do is live healthy, eat lots of vegetables! =)
3 :
well, i can tell you that it's higher than 70% but you shouldn't have to worry about it for a while. As long as you get checked once in a while, you should be fine! if its caught at an early stage, it can be treated!
4 :
You have a 50/50 chance you have inherited the gene from your mother if she had the genetic form of breast cancer. Only about 10&% of breast cancers are hereditary, but given their young age when diagnosed, your mother and Grandmother probably were. If you have the gene, then you have a high risk, if not you have an average risk. Treat yourself as a high risk, and act accordingly. Have regular check-ups. Do regular self checks. Talk to your Dr so you are well informed on what increases and reduces your risk regarding diet, medications, vitamin supplements etc. As you have seen, breast cancer is treatable, especially if caught early.
5 :
Genetically you are in the high risk category (50 - 75%). However, given the new advanced in medicine it is very possible that gene therapy or some other treatment will come along to decrease the possibility. On of my nursing instructors in the 1970s stated that over the next fifty years we would find that the vast majority of diseases had a genetic cause. I am astonished how accurate her prediction has come to be over the past decades. Hope this helps ...
6 :
First of all, don't rely on anonymous people to give you statistics and answers on your chances of getting breast cancer. We're not clairvoyant or doctors. The best thing you could do is talk to your mom or doctor, express your concern about breast cancer and when you're old enough, do self-exams and yearly exams. Keep proactive and don't live in fear or in the "what ifs" because that's not a life. You're young. Enjoy your life and again talk to your mom and doctor for answers. NOBODY here can tell you that you'll get breast cancer.
7 :
Tarkarri is right, and your other answerers have given you incomplete information. If your mother's breast cancer was due to one of the rare inherited faulty BRCA genes known to be responsible for hereditary breast cancer, then you have a 50% chance of having inherited that gene - and of course a 50% chance that you didn't. If you did inherit a faulty gene from your mother, that does not mean you will definitely get breast cancer, but that your chances are increased; it would mean you had between a 50% and 80% chance of developing it by age 70. If your mother carries a faulty gene and you HAVEN'T inherited it, then your risk of breast cancer is no greater than anyone else's. Breast cancer is not usually hereditary - only 5 - 10% of cases are. Because your mother and grandma (I'm assuming it's your mother's mother) had breast cancer at a young age, it may well be that it was due to one of the inherited BRCA genes - they can be tested for this if they haven't been alreaady. If so you will be offered testing when you are older to see if you carry that gene. One of my friends carries one of the BRCA genes and both her adult daughters have been tested for it - one has inherited it, the other hasn't. Talk to your mother about this. At your present age your risk of breast cancer is very close to zero whether your mother's and grandmother's cancers were hereditary or not



 Read more discussions :