No. While some women choose to have a bilateral mastectomy, there are other options to reduce your breast cancer risk. These include monthly self-breast exams, clinical breast exams two times a year, as well as annual mammograms, and annual breast MRIs. Chemoprevention, a medication that reduces breast cancer risk, may also be an option for you.
At this time, there are no effective screening techniques for ovarian cancer. High risk patients may consider ultrasounds or a blood test called CA-125, but these tests are not known to be effective at detecting ovarian cancer at an early stage. If you have a BRCA mutation and have finished having children, we recommend having your ovaries and fallopian tubes removed to reduce your risk of ovarian cancer (usually around age 35-40). This procedure, called an oophorectomy, also reduces your risk for breast cancer and has been associated with a 77 percent reduction in your overall risk of death.
Men with BRCA mutation should have increased screening for breast and prostate cancer.
BRCA carriers have many difficult decisions to make, and with that knowledge they can work with healthcare professionals to make sure they make the right decisions for themselves and their family.