If you have a positive result for aBRCAmutation, you have a higher than average probability of developing breast cancer or ovarian cancer. Getting ahead of hereditary breast and ovarian cancer (HBOC) syndrome with proper testing and medical care is critical to helping manage your cancer risk.

A key to peace of mind and continued health is developing a medical management plan that will help you manage your personal risk. HBOC testing provides an early indicator about the potential to develop breast cancer or ovarian cancer. From there, your medical management plan may include more frequent checks, since these cancers are more likely to be successfully treated if they are caught at an early stage.

Your healthcare professional will guide you in making decisions to help manage your cancer risk. Some of the current options available to manage your cancer risk are increased screenings, preventive medications and preventive surgery. Technology is always advancing and continues to help identify better ways to detect breast cancer and ovarian cancer with screenings such as magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). MRI technologies allow doctors to detect abnormalities in the soft tissue of the body. But monthly breast self-exams, annual clinical exams and annual transvaginal ultrasounds are routine ways that you can be proactive about detecting breast cancer and ovarian cancer.

If you are positive for aBRCAmutation, preventive medications exist to help reduce the risk of breast and ovarian cancer. Another common preventive measure is the use of oral contraceptives, which has shown a 60 percent reduction in ovarian cancer risks.

Preventive surgery may also be an option. A prophylactic mastectomy can reduce your risk of developing breast cancer by more than 90 percent for women with BRCA gene mutations. Likewise, a prophylactic bilateral salping-oophorectomy (removal of the fallopian tubes and ovaries) can reduce the risk of ovarian cancer by up to 96 percent and if performed by age 40, also simultaneously reduce breast cancer risks by up to 68 percent.