Any woman who has herself had a history of Breast cancer and all other women in her family, who are her blood relatives need to be under surveillance to keep a watch for the occurrence of the disease. This includes clinical examination, breast self-examination, and mammograms from age 35 years onwards.
Genes are magic codes which are present in all our cells. They determine our personal characteristics. It is through these genes that our traits get transmitted from one generation to the next. We are not absolutely alike our previous generation as we inherit genes from both our parents and sometimes there may be some changes in the genetic code in the previous generation. This change is called a genetic mutation. This mutation is transferred from the parents to the offspring during conception. Some of these inherited gene mutations may increase the risk of breast cancer in the person who has inherited the gene. BRCA1 (Breast Cancer Gene 1) and BRCA2 (Breast Cancer Gene 2) are genes which are linked to the risk of Breast Cancer. These genes are present in everyone but if there are any mutations in these genes which are inherited by the next generation, it increases the risk of Breast Cancer in that generation. The person with BRCA1 or BRCA2 mutation is termed a BRCA1/2 carrier.
The three modalities used for screening are the following: