If a BRCA gene mutation is detected in the family, we recommend that the children undergo the tests once they are grown up, women can be tested from 20 years of age. The significance of gene mutation detection is enormous and concerns not only the physical risk for you and your family members of getting cancer—knowing it can have a psychological and financial impact on the whole family. First-degree relatives of a BRCA gene mutation carrier have a much higher risk of developing cancer. Every child of the BRCA mutation carrier has a 50% chance of inheriting the mutation. If a family member gets cancer before 40 years old, it means that the whole family is at an increased risk. About 50% of women who happen to have mutations in their BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes do not have cases of breast or ovarian cancer in their family history. So, they are not aware that they could be carriers of cancer-causing mutations.