I’m Shannon Walsh. Ten percent of all diagnosed cancers are inherited. For someone with a strong personal or family history of cancer, genetic testing can help reduce the risk and increase chances of survival. Here to explain is Celvie Pownewpen, a genetic counselor at Northside Hospital. Celvie, thank you for being with us.

1. What is hereditary cancer?

Well, most cancers are actually not hereditary, but about 5 to 10% of cancers are hereditary. Hereditary means that you are inheriting a non-working gene from either your mother or your father and that is increasing the risk of developing cancer.

2. Is the same gene that’s responsible for breast cancer, also a factor in GYN cancer such as ovarian?

Yes, so most people know about the BRCA genes or have heard about the BRCA genes, the BRCA 1 and BRCA 2 genes. It increases the risk for breast cancer, but it also increases the risk for ovarian cancer.

3. So if you test positive, what does it mean?

If you test positive for one of the BRCA genes, then you have an increased risk of developing breast cancer. Most women have a lifetime risk of developing breast cancer which is 12%. But if you inherit a mutation in one of the BRCA genes, then your risk of developing breast cancer is up to 87%. Now your risk for ovarian cancer is also increased up to about 40%, depending on whether you’re BRCA 1 or BRCA 2 positive.

4. How do you know you’re at risk?

Well, it’s important for you to consider genetic testing if you’ve had breast cancer under the age of 45, if you had ovarian cancer in any age, if you have a family history either on your mother’s side or your father’s side of early-onset breast cancer. So if you had two aunts on either your father’s side or your mother’s side under the age of 50 with breast cancer or ovarian cancer, it’s important for you to think about testing. It’s also important to know about your ethnic ancestry, people who are Ashkenazi Jewish ancestry are increasing risk for carrying a mutation in one of these BRCA genes and also if you have a family member who’s tested positive, it’s important for you to consider genetic testing.

5. What about colon cancers? Are they hereditary?

Yes. In certain families, colon cancers are hereditary. There’s a condition known as HNPCC or hereditary nonpolyposis colorectal cancer syndrome. In these families there is an increased risk of developing endometrial cancer or uterine cancer as well as colon cancer and gastric cancers. So if you have a family history of early-onset colon cancer or endometrial cancer, it’s important for you to have an evaluation for this condition called HNPCC.