Over the past decade, testing for mutations to the genes known as BRCA1 and BRCA2 has become a highly-regarded tool in the fight against breast cancer and ovarian cancer. And it’s given people with the genes – both those with cancer and those who don’t have it – information they can use to detect cancer early, prevent a recurrence or keep from getting it at all.
Dana Farengo Clark, a genetic counselor at the Cooper Cancer Institute, was interviewed for an article published in the Burlington County Times saying she encourages parents who want their young children tested to wait until they’re 18. Otherwise, she said, daughters may find out something they wouldn’t have wanted to know when they were old enough to decide for themselves. Because recommended screening doesn’t begin until age 25, knowing earlier isn’t likely to do much but give the family reason to worry, she said.
Families are often involved in a patient’s decision to test for the mutations, Clark said. For example, women whose mothers were treated for breast cancer 30 years ago and, spared a recurrence, happily forgot about it.
“Then, their daughters are reading Prevention magazine and call mom and say, ‘Did you ever have that testing done?’ ‘No, honey, it didn’t exist when I had my cancer.’ ‘Maybe you should,’ ” she said.