I was DX in Oct 08 and after chatting with onc they have sent me for gentic testing meeting, what info do I need to take - just people with BC or is there other cancers I need to find out about??
they seemed very interested in the fact my son was born with a kidney problem - is this related in anyway???
I am just trying to gather info from other older members of my family and the letter I received really doesn’t help in what it needs from me. sorry for rambling - really chemo brain at the moment!!
Hi Vicky, at my appointment the doctor made a family tree of various relatives and their cancers. They are usually looking (mainly) for breast, ovarian or prostate cancers. I was really put at ease and was invited to give bloods…but was under no pressure…I could have gone away to think about my choices. I then had to wait about ten months for my results. I had gaps in my family tree, distant relatives I’d lost touch with but they won’t expect you to come in with pages and pages of info. Good Luck…x
BCC have published a factsheet about familial breast cancer and it contains a guide to the sort of information you will be asked at your appointment, to order, read or download a copy you can copy and paste this link:
I was sent through the post a questionaire to fill in and take with me on the day. From this information a tree was drawn and relatives who had been diagnosed with cancer were highlighted. This was the first time I had seen it like this and it was quite shocking to see. I was also asked to provide an approximate date of diagnosis and the treating Dr’s name. Genetics then made contact with the relevant hospital to confirm the exact diagnosis, with consent of those relatives still alive. I waited over 18 months for my result but it seems this is getting quicker now.
I have just had my first genetic counselling meeting today. I had to give them loads of information about my family, in particular any relatives who have had cancer, what type, what age etc. I supplied all this information before my appointment so when I went today, it had all been put in a family tree. Interesting about your son and kidney problems. The reason we are being screened for genetic problems is that my son had cancer of the kidney when a baby and there is a link between this and breast cancer - don’t know about other types of kidney diseases and the link. They think that we have got a dodgy gene somewhere and are going to be tested for this.