Should I Find Out My Cancer Risk Before Starting a Family?

Planning a pregnancy is one of the most forward-looking decisions a person can make. If cancer runs in your family, it is natural to wonder whether a gene variant that affected your mother, your aunt, or your grandmother could affect your child. The short answer is: yes, it can. And the window before pregnancy is one of the most empowering times to find out.

Why Preconception Is an Ideal Time for Testing

Your decisions are at their most flexible. If a hereditary variant is identified, certain risk management strategies can be planned around your reproductive goals. For example, a woman with a BRCA variant may decide to complete her family before considering risk-reducing oophorectomy.

Your child’s risk can be contextualized. If you carry a pathogenic variant, each of your children would have a 50 percent chance of inheriting it. That knowledge is a gift — not a burden — enabling them to begin enhanced screening when they reach adulthood.

Reproductive options may be available. For couples who wish to prevent transmission, preimplantation genetic testing (PGT) through IVF may be an option, but only if the variant is known beforehand.

When Family History Should Prompt Action

• A parent, sibling, or grandparent diagnosed with cancer before age 50
• Two or more relatives on the same side with the same or related cancers
• A relative with ovarian cancer at any age
• A relative with male breast cancer
• A known hereditary cancer gene variant in the family
• Ashkenazi Jewish ancestry (approximately 1 in 40 carry a BRCA founder mutation)

Learn about who should consider genetic testing.

The BRCA Question

If you carry a pathogenic BRCA variant, your lifetime breast cancer risk may be 45 to 72 percent, and your ovarian cancer risk may be 10 to 44 percent. Knowing your BRCA status before pregnancy allows you to plan the sequencing and timing of screening and intervention around your family goals. Learn more about BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes.

For Partners

Hereditary cancer testing is relevant for all prospective parents, not only mothers. Fathers can pass BRCA and Lynch syndrome variants to their children, and men with BRCA2 variants face elevated risks for prostate and other cancers.

The Emotional Dimension

Consider: generations before you did not have this information. They could not plan, could not screen early, could not take preventive action. The fact that you can is a profound advantage for your child. A genetic counselor can help you work through both the emotional and medical dimensions. Learn about insurance coverage and privacy protections.