How often are these cancers hereditary? How can an increased risk for breast and ovarian cancer be inherited?
• Genes are the instructions that tell our bodies how to grow and develop • We have two copies of every gene. • We get one copy of every gene from our mother and one from our father. • BRCA1 and BRCA2 are two different genes that help protect us from getting cancer. • If you have a change (mutation) in one copy of your BRCA1 or BRCA2 gene, your chances of getting some but not all types of cancer will be increased • Both men and women can have a BRCA1 or BRCA2 mutation. • If you have a BRCA1 or BRCA2 mutation there is a 50% chance you could pass this mutation on to each of your children.
