Click Here To Get Dr. Harness’ 15 Breast Cancer Questions To Ask Your Doctor www.breastcanceranswers.com Breast Cancer Answers is a social media show where viewers submit a question and get the answer from an expert. Submit your question now at, www.breastcanceranswers.com In this clip, Jay Harness, MD, FACS explains genetic testing for breast cancer. Genetic testing… What is genetic testing for breast cancer? The two genes that we know about right now are called BRCA1 and BRCA2. Actually, Mary Claire King was one of the people who first really discovered BRCA1 and 2 over a decade ago. Genetic testing for the gene itself is done by a blood test. The genetic evaluation should be done by a skilled genetic counselor. This involves taking a very detailed family history of both the mother and father’s side of the family, and drawing out a whole family map, if you will, and then certain formulas are available that raise the index of suspicion of whether somebody can be gene-positive or not. A good example of that is a woman developing breast cancer in her late 30s or late 40s, or if she has had relatives who have had multiple breast cancers, or a family history of ovarian cancer and/or a family history of male breast cancer. So gene testing is looking for the two genes that we know about now, which are BRCA1 and 2. I believe there are gonna be many more genes that we will find down the road.
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