Oneida Center for Rehabilitation and Nursing on Federal Recommendations that More Women Get Breast Cancer Gene Test
September 13, 2019
The U.S. Preventative Services Task Force is recommending that more women undergo genetic testing to see if they are at risk for hereditary breast or ovarian cancer.
The Task Force has long recommended genetic testing for women who have relatives with cancers caused by mutations of a gene called BRCA.
Now, the recommendations are expanding to women who were previously treated for BRCA-related cancers (breast, ovarian, fallopian tube, and peritoneal cancers) and are now considered cancer-free, along with women whose ancestry is prone mutations of the BRCA gene. One example given was Ashkenazi Jewish women.
The reason that those who are labeled as breast cancer survivors are being recommended for additional testing is because doctors say another tumor could develop in breast tissue that remains or they could still be at risk for a different type of cancer caused by BRCA mutations.
“It’s important to test those people now,” Task Force member Dr. Carol Mangione told the Associated Press. “We need to get the word out to primary care doctors to do this assessment and to make the referrals.”
What Happens if Mutations are Found?
BRCA mutations only account for between 5 and 10 percent of breast cancers and 15 percent of ovarian cancers, so the gene testing is just one piece of the puzzle when considering overall risk. It may force people to try to cut down on other risk factors, and you even may remember actress Angelina Jolie having a preventative mastectomy in 2013. Her mother died of cancer at age 56, and Jolie claimed that the procedure cut her risk of breast cancer from 87 percent to under 5 percent.
The options can be confusing, but genetic counselors are available, and if private insurers follow the Task Force’s recommendation on covering this testing, it may be available at no cost to you based on federal health care laws.
To learn more about Oneida Center for Rehabilitation and Nursing and all of the services they offer, visit https://centershealthcare.com/oneida_center/.
