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Sharing information about inherited cancer risk can help relatives make informed decisions about their own health.
A genetic test can reveal an inherited cancer risk that other family members may share.
Siblings, adult children, and other blood relatives may then have reason to discuss testing with a healthcare provider. The finding could help explain a history of cancer within the family or identify relatives who might benefit from closer monitoring.
For the person tested, the next question is often whom to tell and how to explain the result.
Some families speak regularly about medical issues; others may be starting that conversation for the first time. A genetic counselor can help explain the findings before they are shared with relatives.
During Breast Cancer Awareness Month, nonprofit jscreen is encouraging families to look more closely at inherited cancer risk. A genetic test result can make those conversations much more specific, particularly when relatives may carry the same harmful variant.
BRCA1 and BRCA2 are among the best-known genes associated with inherited breast cancer risk. A harmful variant in one of these genes may be relevant to more than one generation of a family.
Such a variant can be passed down through either parent, regardless of whether that parent has experienced a cancer diagnosis.
One point to make clear when sharing a result is that carrying a harmful variant does not make a cancer diagnosis inevitable. A negative result, meanwhile, does not eliminate breast cancer risk.
A genetic counselor can explain the result and help the person tested decide which information is useful to share.
When a harmful genetic variant is identified, the precise information in the laboratory report is often more useful than a general description.
A relative can bring that information to a healthcare provider and discuss it alongside their own medical and family history. The counselor's explanation can help keep the conversation specific to what the test actually found.
A counselor can help identify which relatives may also have reason to consider testing. That guidance can make it easier to decide where to begin when sharing the news.
Sharing a report doesn't have to mean sending private medical information to every relative at once. Some people prefer to make individual phone calls. Others find that an email or letter gives relatives more time to absorb the information and decide what questions to ask.
Family history remains part of the conversation. The cancer types, the relatives affected, and whether diagnoses occurred at a young age can help a healthcare provider assess inherited risk.
That history includes both sides of the family. Men can carry and pass on cancer-related variants, and breast, ovarian, pancreatic, or prostate cancers may be relevant to the discussion.
The national nonprofit jscreen provides hereditary cancer testing using a 63-gene panel, with saliva samples collected at home. Participants can review their results with a certified genetic counselor, who can explain the implications for their own care and for relatives who may share an inherited variant.
The program is available nationwide, with testing performed by a CLIA-certified laboratory and clinically interpreted results available within three to four weeks.
For some families, the conversation may lead to a relative making an appointment. Others may take time to consider the information. Sharing it gives each person a starting point for their own discussion with a healthcare professional.
The person sharing the result also has choices to make about privacy. Medical information can be deeply personal, even when it has implications for other people.
Some people may want to tell a sibling before discussing the results with a wider circle of relatives. They can choose how much to share and when.
For families who have never discussed inherited cancer risk, a useful beginning may be as simple as finding out whether anyone has already been tested and whether the original report is available.
Keeping a copy of the report gives relatives something they can take to their own healthcare providers, now or in the future.
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