Is there a gene for breast cancer?!

Is there a gene for breast cancer?

My grandmother and some of her sister died of breast cancer, Granted this was when they did know too much about it and by time they found it, it was too late. i get checked every year, but i have heard that there might be some kind of gene that you can get tested for. is there any truth to that? thanks

BRCA1 & BRCA2 are the names of the genes that are looked for with breast cancer. You can be tested for it but it costs around $3000 and not many insurance carriers cover the testing. You don't necessarily have those genes but if that many women in your family have had breast cancer on that one side of the family it is a pretty good indicator and I think you would be a good candidate for testing. You should be sure to do breast self exams monthly, not to try to diagnose yourself but to be aware of any changes and to be familiar with your breast structure in case of any changes. You should also mention the strong family history with your doctor so that mammograms/ultrasounds can be performed at an earlier age than currently recommended. Last week they announced identifying another gene responsible for releasing a protein that can also cause breast cancer though I can't remember the name of it so I'm sure they soon will begin testing for that gene also.