Breast cancer

[pol25]

Feeling a little poo-ey today, besides being 11 weeks preg, my sister has just rang. She found a lump in her breast a few weeks ago and luckily turned out to be a cyst and burst when they tried to draw off fluid.
But today she went to see the genetics team for an appointment about her chances of breast cancer.
My mum had breast cancer in 1991 and 1999 and died from liver cancer (from breast cancer) in 2002.
The genetics team told her that my mums cancers were not related (the two breast ones) and so it counted as if two seperate family members had had it.
Told her the chances of us girls, (we are three sisters) getting it are 1 in 3... one of us will have breast cancer probably, how scary is that especially when my mum died from this.
Just feeling miserable and thinking about my sis who had appointmanet and my babies. She has three young children and I will soon have two!
I know it may never happen but are odds are from 1 in 9 to 1 in 3.
Feeling sad and I know breast cancer touches us all but just check your boobies regulary and don't let it be you.

oh no :( you must be feeling awful...
at least you know and will be more aware about changes in your breasts... and if you do get it and it's caught early then chances of full recovery are very good aren't they?

Oh I hope so... First lot of b/c my mum had was due to her hrt, but second was v.aggressive feeling really sad for all the women who have got or had b/c and just being bloody miserable!
Know it's kinda irrational but now worried, but then you worry about everything when you're pg.
You're right forewarned is forearmed!

Pol25, I completely sympathise and am sorry you are feeling so sad.

There are three generations of women in my family who have had breast cancer. The girls in my generation have been given a 1 in 4 chance of developing breast cancer. I know it feels like it is hanging over you and you are just waiting to see who gets it. The good thing, as Starlover said, is that you are all aware of the risks and you will make sure that your children are all aware. You will all check yourselves thoroughly and regularly and will all go to the doctor with any concern, large or small.

Please also remember the role that raging hormones are playing at the moment too. (Congratulations by the way!)

I'm in the same position. My nana and my mum both died from breast cancer. There is genetic councilling which you can arrange which lasts for a year then they will test you to see if you have the hereditary breast cancer gene the Brac2 gene. If you have this gene you then have a 98 per cent chance of getting breast cancer and you have a fifty per cent chance as it stands now of having the gene. If you find out you do have it you can then choose what actions you want to take such as getting a masectomy and a hysterectomy (as there's a risk of ovarian cancer also if you have the gene.) I always said I will arrange genetic counselling when i'm 30 and I will be 30 in July however i'm not sure if I will be ready to face this then but would definately like to have it then the gene test at some point(you've got to have the counselling before the test i think). Maybe if you do this you and your sisters can be proactive if you do have the gene or it will put your mind slightly at rest if you don't , i say slightly because not having the gene doesn't mean you wont get breast cancer but that your risk is equal to any woman. I know its hard to live with I always feel that it's in my future and it's a scarey thing to live with especially when you have children.

Thank you everyone and feeling for you all who have had this problem or mum's nan's etc... Raging hormones aren't helping but I guess we went through it with my mum twice and two mastectomies, one chemo, two radiotherapy and lots of drugs and i'm sure if it happened we'd do the same again.