Mary has come to you for counseling because she has a history of cancer in her f
ID: 50406 • Letter: M
Question
Mary has come to you for counseling because she has a history of cancer in her family, both her mother and grandmother (both still alive) had breast cancer and her Greatgrandmother died of ovarian cancer. None of these women had any genetic testing. Mary took a microarray test that will detect 70% of all of the known cancer-causing BRCA1 alleles, and the test was negative.
a. What would you advise her to do? b. Explain the reasoning behind your answer. If you suggest further tests, explain what tests and why you think they should be done
Explanation / Answer
a. As the miccroarray test was negative for breast cancer genes, she is having less risk of developing breast cancer. But though there is no genetic evidence, breast cancer can occur throughseveral other causes. I will advide her to have healthy foods rich in antioxidants and keep away from foods with pesticides. Having curcumin andother spices reduces the risk of cancer to great extent.