Am I a high risk for breast cancer if two of my aunts and one of my cousins each had it twice?

Question

or does it go by the mother?

Answer 1

You are  at increased risk of breast cancer if one of your parents (either one) carries one of the rare faulty genes known to be responsible for hereditary breast cancer,

Only 5 - 10% of all breast cancer cases are hereditary.

With 1 in 9 women getting breast cancer at some time in their lives, it's not unusual for more than one woman in the same family to have non-hereditary breast cancer.

If your relatives' breast cancer was random and not hereditary, like 90+% of breast cancers, then you are not at increased risk.

If one of your grandparents carried one of the rare faulty genes, BRCA1 or BRCA2, there is a 50% chance that it was  passed  down to her child, your parent. If that is the case and one of your parents has one of the faulty genes then you have a 50% chance of having inherited it, though inheriting it would not mean you would definitely get breast cancer - that would be a 50 - 80% chance.

After I was diagnosed with breast cancer, my oncologist was able to assure me that my cancer was not hereditary, and that other members of my largely female family are not at any increased risk. Possibly one or more of your family members have been told whether their cancer was hereditary? It's worth asking.

With three women in your family having had breast cancer - assuming they are all from the same side of the family - you might want to speak to your doctor about being tested for the BRCA genes.

By the way, you don't say how old your aunts were when they were diagnosed; as with other cancers, breast cancer diagnosed after the age of 50 is less likely to be hereditary

Answer 2

For hereditary cancer it is usually a specific type that strikes the immediate family . . ie your mother and your siblings would all have the exact same cancer. Likewise . . if the two aunts are your mothers sisters . . and it is the same type of cancer . . than both you, your mom, and siblings might want to get tested.

NCI: Genetic Testing for Ovarian and Breast Cancer

http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/Genet...