October is well-known as breast cancer awareness month. We all know friends and may have family members that have been diagnosed and fought this horrible disease.  My mother and her sister were both diagnosed with breast cancer, so I know first-hand the pain it can cause.

The average risk for a women being diagnosed with breast cancer over her lifetime is 1 in 8. Current guidelines for breast self exams, clinical breast exams and mammograms for screening are all aimed at early detection, meaning the diagnosis comes after developing breast cancer. While early diagnosis is the best way to survive breast cancer, prevention would be so much better. My mother was diagnosed very early and has lived decades cancer free. Her sister was diagnosed at a later stage and died after a long fight with breast cancer that lasted over 10 years, undergoing several surgeries and many rounds of chemotherapy.

What if we had the means to diagnose patients before they developed cancer? Imagine the lives saved and the families freed of the pain of this disease. That time is now. We are using a new term called “previvor” This is a patient that is a survivor of cancer by preventing cancer. Not the majority, but a significant number of breast cancers are hereditary especially those that are diagnosed before 50 years old.

It has become very easy and affordable to screen patients for genetic mutations that increase the risk of cancer. If a positive test returns showing a gene that leads to increased cancer risk, additional screening to catch cancer even earlier or surgery can be offered to prevent cancer before it develops. Watch this short video to learn more:

There was no genetic screening available when my mother was diagnosed with breast cancer. Years later the BRCA gene was discovered and now we know of over 200 genes that increase the risk of cancer. Some of these are less understood but about 50 lead to the majority of hereditary and familial cancers. We can test for these with a simple blood test.

I have partnered with Natera to offer my patients the Empower test and offer counseling on the best ways to prevent or screen for cancers if the test returns positive. Having access to this information can be life-saving for my patients and life-changing for their families and loved ones too.
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