Breast Cancer From Father

If your mom or her sisters never got breast cancer, you don’t have to worry, right? Wrong. You are just as likely to inherit the BRCA1 or BRCA2 mutations, the biggest genetic predictors of the disease, from your father’s side of family.

Having the mutations means you have a 50% chance of getting breast cancer before age 50. So, you should also ask your father about his family history, and if your doctor doesn’t bring it up, make sure you do.

BRCA mutations are just one piece of the family tree puzzle. Scientists are trying to pinpoint a group of weaker, or low-penetrance genes. Alone. They raise the odds of the disease only slightly. But a woman with several of them might see that risk skyrocket.