anyone have family diagnosed with BC before/during/after you

Hi Encee.

Happy Bank Holiday to you and well done for getting through another bit of surgery. I admire you so much as I still have some tidying up to be done but keep putting it off as I cant face going back under the knife again!
I am sorry to hear that your sis has now been diagnosed, thats a bit of a double whammy for your family. My Mum had breast cancer but did not survive it so when I was diagnosed I asked about genetic testing and was told to hold off until after treatment and they would discuss it with me again. I raised it earlier this year with my oncologist and he was reluctant to go down that road as he said the statistics say that the chance of it being genetic are slim as I was 40 when I got the cancer( albeit pre menapausal) but my mum was in her 50's and post menapausal and apparently that has some bearing on whether it is lilely to be genetic or not. To be honest I am not convinced and intend on raising it again.
I can only imagine how difficult it must be for you, trying to support your sister but also recovering yourself . I would suggest that you direct her to the Breast Care Nurse and even the Daffodil Centre and let them answer the " hard " questions and then you can just support her by giving her tips on how to get through chemo etc. Does she have the exact same type of BC as you had? As you know treatment plans change depending on the type and stage and as such you may not be in a position to answer her questions.
I met a woman who was diagnosed when I was in treatement and she fired a million questions at me and kept texting me and after a while it kinda brought me down as I was trying to move forward and this was dragging me back so I asked her to write all her questions down on a piece of paper and I then directed her to the appropriate people to answer the questions and it lifted the weight off me and she went to the people I receommended. I know it is different with a sister but maybe it could help you????

Ah thanks Shinners!
Thankfully she doesn't have the same cancer as me - I feel it's not necessary to do the genetics test purely because it hasnt presented anywhere in my family, either my mothers or my fathers side. But there is a small part of me that feels the next generation might want to know.
In the mean time, I'm going to keep myself on the straight and narrow and not take on too much - I guess I'm afraid I'm a bit too ambivalent about it but I just don't have the head space to be a font of knowledge to her as her treatment plan is different than mine. And I have a feeling that there may be noses out of joint if I don't jump to the front and give undivided attention but that is not for me to feel guilty about and hopefully others will understand too.

Hi encee sorry to hear about ur sister, that has got to be tough on you too! I raised the issue of genetics testing. My mother passed away a few years ago after a forth reoccurrence, because I was so young being diagnosed, and because I presented to the hosp a year before with symptoms and was dismissed because of my age (big mistake by hosp) I felt that it is important for my other family members to be aware of the risk, if I come back positive, not that they should get tested but hopefully they will be more vigilant, be more aware of their risk, and the doctors would be more proactive with them.

I asked to be referred in July last year, after Christmas I followed it up and got a cancellation appointment a few weeks ago. Results will take 3-6 months.

That was a great help Ania; jeez, I knew the time frame was long and wide but I'm glad you told me how long the process was for you.

Take care of yourself Ania, hope things stay going on course for you x

my mother passed away with breast cancer, so coming from a family of seven girls we were all very aware. I think it depends on her age or thats the impression i got if she had been younger, (she was 68 when she died)it rises the risks. The specialist nurse told us that once i got it and my mother it raised the risks again. She told us that we all should be checked but not for genetic testing, but if you wanted you good go ahead, but it would be a personal choice. My oncologist and surgeon both have a intrest in family history so because my mother was treated at same hospital (diffrent team)they said they would look at her history and see were they the same type.

My sister also got breast cancer - six or seven years ago. Nobody in the family from either side had got it before her. We both got more or less the same type and were both pre-menaupause. My mum had three sisters and my dad had seven, none of them got it. When I was diagnosed the oncologist wasn't too concerned about it being genetic but as I have a daughter who now has a strong family history with her aunt and mother getting it, I was told that she would be more aware.
Thankfully my sister and I caught it early and we are both on top form

Is there something in women getting it premenopausal. I was just hitting 50. I only know an aunt who got it in her late 70's

Hi Encee,
I was the first in my family to get Breast Cancer aged 37 but then my sister was diagnosed a year later aged 39. My breast Surgeon sent a letter for me to the Genetic centre in Crumlin. We were put forward for the testing because we were both under 40 being diagnosed and both were oestrogen +. My results came back positive for brca2.
If you are concerned talk to your Oncologist or Breast Surgeon at next appointment that is how I started the ball rolling it all seems to depend on age and closeness of relative.
Hopes this helps a bit good luck with it all,
Bernie xx