Predictive genetic test for cancer risk genes
Planning a family
Cancer risk genes can be passed on to any children you have. If your predictive genetic test is positive and you want to start a family, you have several options. You can: Have your children without any intervention , and risk your child inheriting the faulty gene. Adopt a baby. Use donor eggs or donor sperm (depending on who carries the faulty gene) to avoid passing on the faulty gene. Have prenatal testing, which is a test done in pregnancy that reveals whether your baby has the faulty gene. You can then plan to continue or terminate the pregnancy, depending on the test result. Have pre-implantation genetic diagnosis a techniqueused to select embryos that have not inherited the faulty gene. However, there is no guarantee this technique will result in a successful pregnancy, and funding for it on the NHS may not be available to all patients.
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Introduction
Cancer is not usually inherited, but some types mainly breast, ovarian, colorectal and prostate cancer can be strongly influenced by genes and can run in families.
What to do if you're worried
Speak to your GP if cancer runs in your family and you're worried you may get it too.Theymay refer you to alocal geneticsservice foran NHSgenetictest, which will tell you if you have inheritedone of t
Pros and cons of having a predictive genetic test
Not everyone who is eligible for the NHS test will want to have it. It's a personal decision, and should only be made after you've had genetic counselling sessions and talkedthrough what having the t
Whattesting involves
There are usually two steps to genetic testing: Arelative with cancer has a diagnostic blood test to see if they have a cancer risk gene (this normally must happen before any healthy relatives a
Whata positive result means
If your predictive genetic test result is positive, it means you have a faulty gene that raises your risk of developing cancer. It doesn'tmean you are guaranteed to get canceryour genes only partly i
Managing your risk
If your test result is positive, you have arange of options to manage your risk. Risk-reducing surgery is not the only option. Ultimately, there's no right or wrong answer about what you should do it
Tellingclose relatives
Your genetics unit will not approach your relatives about your result it will usually be up to you to tell your family. You may be given a standard letter to share with relatives, which explains your
Planning a family
Cancer risk genes can be passed on to any children you have. If your predictive genetic test is positive and you want to start a family, you have several options. You can: Have your children withou
Paying for private testing
If there isn't a strong family history of cancer in your family and the faulty gene hasn't otherwise been identified in any of your relatives, you won't be eligible for the NHS genetic test. You'll h
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