Angelina Jolie announcement shows importance of family health history discussion

If knowing is half the battle, then deciding what to do with that knowledge must be the other half.

Angelina Jolie showed the power behind that knowledge and action recently when she announced to the world that she had had a preventive double mastectomy upon learning that she was at an increased risk for breast and ovarian cancer.

“I want to encourage every woman, especially if you have a family history of breast or ovarian cancer, to seek out the information and medical experts who can help you through this aspect of your life, and to make your own informed choices,” she wrote in an op-ed for the New York Times.

In her case, the family history is what drove her to be screened for cancer at relatively early age. Her mother succumbed to cancer at the age of 56—following a 10-year battle with the disease. Jolie’s genetic test results showed a mutation in one of her breast cancer susceptibility genes (BRCA), which put her at an increased risk for the disease.

Julie Zenger Hain, PH.D, FACMG, the director of Cytogenetics at Oakwood Healthcare, Inc. said the decision was a brave one and it underscores the value of knowing your family health history.

“The family health history is really a collection of information about the family,” she said.

It can be an important  tool in determining risk for disease in men and women alike.Family history is a collection of facts, such as who in your family has been diagnosed with cancer, what type/site of cancer, how the person is related to you—mother, father, sibling, cousin, etc—and how old they were when they were diagnosed. It is important to gather that information from both sides your family.

“The general rule is that the earlier the age of onset of a disease process and the more family members affected, the greater risk it poses to other family members,” she said.

Everyone has two copies of the BRCA genes and mutations or malfunctions in one copy of them are relatively rare. In those rare cases, however, the risk for developing breast cancer can be as high as 80-90 percent, and the risk of developing ovarian cancer can be up to 20-40 percent. Preventative double mastectomies, while not the only option, can reduce that risk of breast cancer by 90 percent according to Zenger Hain.

The key is communication with your family and your primary care doctor in determining whether  you are at an increased risk for developing cancer. From there, options and recommendations vary from individual to individual.Oakwood has tools to help you determine your family history at http://www.oakwood.org/genetic-counseling. Resources are also available at www.hhs.gov/familyhistory.  If you have a history of cancer in your family, those are good places to start, she said, and the knowledge can help you and your loved ones.

“Knowing your family’s health history not only impacts you; it impacts all your family members,” she said. “It gives you the opportunity to take advantage of prevention and early detection options to improve your own health and it helps your family members understand what options are available to them, to improve your family’s health as a whole.”