[masraum]

Originally Posted by pwd72s

Adopted...genetic family unknown. I prefer to keep it that way.

You're old enough that it's probably mostly immaterial at this point. But what if you were in your 30s or 40s (since you're adopted, you probably don't have any family medical history) and there was a chance that something like this could have identified that you were likely to develop AMD, and there was some treatment available to help delay the onset?

For women especially, it might be good to know if they had the BRCA genes which predisposes them to developing breast and/or ovarian cancer (4-5 times as likely as women without the BRCA genes).

It is estimated that one in eight women, or approximately 12%, will be diagnosed with breast cancer in her lifetime.

However, women with certain genetic mutations have a higher lifetime risk of the disease. It’s estimated that 55 – 65% of women with the BRCA1 mutation will develop breast cancer before age 70.

Approximately 45% of women with a BRCA2 mutation will develop breast cancer by age 70.

Women with a BRCA1 or BRCA2 mutation who overcome their breast cancer with treatment appear to have a higher-than-average chance of developing a second cancer. This is called a recurrence. Cancers related to a BRCA1 mutation are also more likely to be triple negative breast cancer, which can be more aggressive and difficult to treat.

You may find these statistics alarming. However, it’s important to note that less than 10% of women diagnosed with breast cancer have a BRCA mutation. Also, with early detection, the vast majority of breast cancer cases can be successfully treated—and that’s true even for people who have a BRCA1 or BRCA2 mutation.