>> Helping you live healthy a recent report says that more women need to be assessed for
the hook for the bracket gene
mutation commonly linked of
course to breast cancer and
also very in cancer
to this includes those who are
considered cancer free
following a previous battle
with another cancer associated
with the gene.
A 2013 report only recommended
women with a family history of
breast, ovarian
tubal or Neil cancers be
screened for the mutations.
But according to CDC only about
5 to 10% of breast cancer and
10 to 15% of ovarian cancer.
It’s hereditary. Joining me.
Now is doctor Diane Johnson and
the medical director of breast
imaging at Memorial Hospital,
good morning. Thank you for
being here and thank you for
having said that a lot of
information that we’re sort of
throwing interview or a little
bit and you know obviously I
know that you know typically
you would hope that women who
have had had a
family member who has you know
been diagnosed with or perhaps
even died from breast cancer or
ovarian cancer would know that
information would start that
conversation for themselves
with their doctor. I guess the
reality is
is that maybe they don’t know
and maybe they haven’t had that
conversation right and so these
guidelines really relate to
recommendations regarding
breast cancer risk assessment,
genetics, counseling and
genetic screening. So any
patient that comes to the
memorial breast Center for
screening or diagnostic
mammogram gets one of these
risk assessments. But these
recommendations really go a
step further and say
this assessment needs to be
available to all women in a
primary care setting. So
primary care doctors
you can ask the patients,
certain questions about her
personal or family history and
also use online risk assessment
tools to help determine whether
a patient is at risk for
carrying one of those breast
cancer genes. So it is
interesting because there we as
women get very busy and as a
result, many may not have ever
had and
you know any kind of imaging
right and may not have even
thought that they were at risk
because they didn’t have any
family members but the reality
is that if you didn’t even have
a family member
who has been diagnosed with
breast cancer ovarian cancers,
an example you could still
possibly have this bracket
mutation gene right and so some
of the things that we look for
in assessing a patient’s risk
our personal history of breast
cancer diagnosed before the age
of 50. A personal history of
bilateral breast cancer
breast and ovarian cancer in
the same individual.
Then we also look at family
history of breast ovarian
impair to kneel cancers.
Risk of a family history when a
male a male person in
your family that had a breast
cancer within put you at a
higher risk and then also
patients of Ashkenazi Jewish
descent are considered to be at
an elevated risk as well and so
all those factors going to
determine whether I’m a patient
might be at an
elevated risk and it’s
important to know so any
patient that’s at an elevated
risk with then get referred
to a genetics counselor who can
do a more detailed risk
assessment and determine
whether that patient needs
genetics testing to test for
one of those breast cancer
genes, it’s interesting because
that testing then and whether
if you have
that gene. You are
significantly at and a
significant increase risk of
developing one of these cancers
correct exactly yeah, it is
important to
remember that. It’s it’s a rare
for a breast cancer to be
related to the gene, but if you
are one of those gene carriers.
You are at an elevated risk for
breast and ovarian cancer,
and you would also want to know
your risk because it featured
increased risk, you may want to
have supplemental screening
with MRI to go with your
screening mammogram. It’s also
very important to remember that
for all patients, but
especially for our high risk
patients and our patients with
dense breast tissue memo
graphically. We recommend
patients undergo a 3 D
mammogram also called Thomas
emphasis like we have a
memorial rather than the
conventional 2 d mammograms and
sometimes that is in that
involves a question.
You know and a request that you
need to make of your doctor
when you’re writing they’re
riding the rough early and that
yes start that conversation.
I know you are on several
months ago you brought that up
and I made that part of my
conversation with my doctor
when I went in and I buy annual
mammogram so I appreciate that
and at some point to our
viewers as well.
>> Doctor Johnson, thank you
for being here, thank you so my
information and it’s all about
having conversations certainly
with your primary care
physician about these kinds of
issues and making sure that
when you’re filling out that
family
medical history that you fill
it out with all of the
information that you know and
if you don’t have family
history information make sure