If My Mom Had Cancer Before What Are My Chances Of Getting It?
My mom had cancer a year ago in her ovaries she was cured of it after that. i was wondering what are my chances of getting it?? she’s in her late 50’s. im 25. im just curious to know. if i have a higher chance of getting cancer of any kind because my mom had it?
Hereditary cancer is rare, fewer than 10% of all cancer cases, all types, are hereditary.
A sign that a cancer MAY be hereditary within a family is when several members of the same side of that family have had the SAME type of cancer, especially if some developed it at a younger than usual age.
You don’t inherit a general tendency to get cancer, and a single case of cancer or several family members having had different types of cancer isn’t hereditary.
And cancer that’s diagnosed after the age of 50 is even less likely to be hereditary.
Most ovarian and breast cancers are diagnosed in women over 50, and are not hereditary.
From the information you’ve given you’re not at increased risk of either, or of any other cancer.
If it’s in your genes, then the chances are pretty high of you getting ovarian cancer; higher than normal. However, in order to make sure that it really is in the genes, you should see whether any other family members have had cancer previously. If it’s just your mum then it’s probably a lone cause that may be because of other reasons than the fact that it is in your genes. Maybe it’s because she was more exposed to carcinogens than you were/ are. So what I’m basically saying is that there is a chance it was because of her genes (which means there is a chance you’ll get it) or the environment that she’s grown up in (nurture or nature concept).
Only about 5% of breast and ovarian cancers are due to a faulty gene (same faulty gene).
People with the genetically linked cancers tend to get the cancer at a younger than average age.
The biggest risk factor is being over 50 years of age.
Given the age your mother developed her cancer, it is unlikely to be genetically linked, so your risk is not much higher than the average woman’s.
If it is a genetically linked cancer you are at slightly higher than average risk of both breast and ovarian cancer. You are at no higher than average risk of any other cancers.
Regular check -ups and a healthy lifestyle are your best defences
I would talk to your OBGYN in regard to what the chances are, but from what I heard they are a lot higher.
Some Dr’s even reccommend that if you are done having children to have the ovaries removed for a precautionary measure