The Importance of Genetic Testing with Ovarian Cancer

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When relatives all get together, it’s the perfect time to discuss family health history. Dr. Thomas Herzog says that cancer is caused by an accumulation of mutations in genes. One of the key genes that drive cancer in women, principally breast and ovarian cancer, is the BRCA gene.

About 1 in 75 people who have ovaries will be diagnosed with ovarian cancer at some point in their lifetime.

About 1 in 8 U.S. women will develop invasive breast cancer over the course of her lifetime.

See why Ovarian Cancer knowledge may lead a woman to seek genetic testing:

Here are 4 reasons that Dr. Herzog believes any patient with ovarian cancer should have genetic testing:

  1. Testing provides prognostic information about how she’s going to do
  2. It opens up treatment avenues that she wouldn’t otherwise have available
  3. It can prevent cancers in that particular patient
  4. Doctors can test relatives for the BRCA gene and hopefully prevent cancers in other patients.

Visit beBRCAaware.com to learn more.

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