Brca gene

[herbie73]

Hi ladies, I hope you are all ok, so I’ve been doing really well for quite a while now, until last week, I found out my dad has prostate cancer which is in his lymph nodes, he is awaiting the results of his biopsy and bone scan which he should get this week. Now as most ha suffers know you go straight to goggle, as I was researching I kept coming across the brca gene, that it can be the cause of prostate cancer in men, now not only am I extremely worried for my dad but it’s kicked of my ha again I am now worried about the brca gene being passed down to myself and my daughters, my dad is 70 the age most prostate cancer are diagnosed also it sounds as though he may have had symptoms for a while, can any one help calm my ha as I need to stay strong for my dad.

Thanks
Herbie73 xxxx

[herbie73]

Also I meant to add I have no breast cancer prostate cancer ovarian cancer or pancreatic cancer anywhere else in my family and non of my family members have ever been diagnosed under 60 my grandad was 64 when he had lung cancer.

[bobby84]

Im so sorry to hear about your father, best of luck with the biopsy and scan and I hope he gets better soon. I guess with any cancer, there could be a genetic cause. My understanding though, is that the vast majority don't have a genetic cause and its age/luck - it sounds to me like your father may fall into the 'age/luck' category. I looked into genetic testing a while ago and its fairly difficult to get testing unless you match certain criteria. I guess you could argue there is a reason for that otherwise we would all be pushing for genetic testing and the vast majority would be negative. Also, even if you are a carrier, there is no guarantee you will get cancer. Perhaps if you're worried, ask your Dad to ask his doctor about his risk of BRCA and if he could get tested? If negative, you have the answer for you and your daughters. If positive, they would have the genetic sequence that they can match to determine if you've inherited it.