Family history and the risk of breast cancer

On average, 12 out of 100 women will get breast cancer. If someone in your family has had breast cancer, your chances of getting it may be higher than average. The more relatives you have with breast cancer, the more your chances go up.

Sometimes a very strong family history of breast cancer is caused by a mutated gene that runs in the family. The gene is called a BRCA gene. Women who inherit this gene change are much more likely to get breast or ovarian cancer.