What does it mean to have a family history of breast cancer?
• At least one member of your family has had breast cancer • When several members of the same family have been diagnosed with the same disease, it is natural to wonder if it is due to an inherited factor • Breast cancer itself cannot be inherited, but the faulty breast cancer genes can be inherited. If a woman has a faulty gene she is at increased risk, but is not certain to develop breast cancer • Most breast cancer occurs by chance alone and is not caused by genetic factors.
