I am sorry to hear about your sister and her diagnosis.
I can understand you wanting to find out more.
When breast cancer is in the family, people often assume that this greatly increases their risk of developing it, but this isn't necessarily so. Although the genes we inherit may influence our risk, other things do as well. No one is risk free and the risk of breast cancer increases for all women as we get older.
Breast cancer risk and causes are explained on our website. The charity Breast Cancer Now has an information booklet on managing your risk if you have a family history of breast cancer, which you may find useful. It has information about screening, treatments, and genetics. Some people find this page on their website helpful.
If this is something you are concerned about, the best person for you to talk this through with would be your GP, as they can go through your family history and refer you to a genetics counsellor if necessary, or arrange a mammogram earlier .
Please get back to us if you need any more information or support. You may find it helpful to talk things through with one of the nurses on our helpline. The number to call is Freephone 0808 800 4040 and the lines are open from 9am till 5 pm Monday to Friday.
