Being at increased risk of breast cancer means that there is a possibility you may develop the disease but doesn't mean that it will definitely happen.
You may have an increased risk of developing breast cancer if you have:
- A strong family history of breast (and sometimes ovarian) cancer
and/or
- An inherited gene change (gene mutation) associated with an increased risk of developing breast cancer.
A family cancer clinic can assess your risk of developing breast cancer and offer you counselling about possible ways to manage it.
The options for women thought to be at increased risk of breast cancer include:
- screening, to detect cancer early if it occurs
- surgery, to reduce the risk of developing breast cancer
- taking part in a research trial to find if a drug can reduce the risk of breast cancer developing. Using drugs to reduce the risk of cancer is called chemoprevention.
Screening
This may involve having regular imaging tests of the breasts to look for signs of cancer. Different combinations of mammograms, ultrasound and MRI scans may be used.
Surgery
If you have a high risk of developing breast cancer, perhaps because you have one of the breast cancer genes, BRCA1 or 2, you may consider surgery to reduce your risk of breast cancer.
This may involve an operation to remove the breast tissue, called a prophylactic mastectomy. Another type of surgery that reduces the risk of breast cancer (although less than a mastectomy) is an operation to take away both ovaries. This is called a prophylactic oophorectomy. It may be considered by women who are also at increased risk of ovarian cancer.
Although these types of surgery greatly reduce the risk of cancer they don't take it away completely. Women who are considering this option need information and support when making up their mind about what to do.
Chemoprevention
Using drugs to stop a disease occurring is called chemoprevention. Some women have the option of taking part in a clinical trial to test whether a particular drug can reduce the risk of breast cancer developing. Hormone treatments, which are known to be effective in treating women with breast cancer, are being studied as risk reducing treatments. You can find trials in breast cancer chemoprevention in the trials section of our website.