Family history of breast cancer

Did you know?

About 9 out of every 10 women who develop breast cancer do NOT have any family history of breast cancer.

What does it mean to have a family history of breast cancer?

At least one member of your family has had breast cancer
When several members of the same family have been diagnosed with the same disease, it is natural to wonder if it is due to an inherited factor
Breast cancer itself cannot be inherited, but the faulty breast cancer genes can be inherited. If a woman has a faulty gene she is at increased risk, but is not certain to develop breast cancer
Most breast cancer occurs by chance alone and is not caused by genetic factors. Between 1-5% of all breast cancers are inherited

Your family history becomes more important:

When more than one relative on the same side of your family (mother or father’s side) has been diagnosed with breast cancer
When those relatives were aged less than 50 years when first diagnosed
When those relatives with breast cancer are more closely related to you (sister rather than cousin)
When there is breast cancer in both breasts, male breast cancer, or breast and ovarian cancer in the family

If I have a family history of breast cancer, at what age should I start screening mammograms, and how often should I be screened?

Women from the age of 40 years with a significant family history of breast cancer are eligible for a screening mammogram every year if they have one of the following:

A first degree relative (mother, sister, daughter, father, son, brother) with breast cancer diagnosed before the age of 50 years
A first degree relative with cancer in both breasts (diagnosed at any age)
Two of more first degree relatives with breast cancer (diagnosed at any age)

Women with one first degree relative affected with breast cancer over the age of 50 years are at NO greater risk than that of the average woman in the community. These women will be offered a screening mammogram every two years.

Useful resources to download

Screening mammography for women with a family history of breast cancer (PDF)
This resource is also available in 15 languages other than English including:

Screening mammography for women with a family history of breast cancer - alternative languages:

  Arabic (PDF)   Greek (PDF)   Portuguese (PDF)

  Bosnian (PDF)   Indonesian (PDF)   Serbian (PDF)

  Chinese (PDF)   Italian (PDF)   Spanish (PDF)

  Croatian (PDF)   Malay (PDF)   Thai (PDF)

  Dari (PDF)   Polish (PDF)   Vietnamese (PDF)

BreastScreen WA media release regarding new family history guidelines (PDF 43KB)

Useful links

Please note: By clicking on these links you will be taken to another website.

National Breast Cancer Centre: information about family history of breast cancer

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