Medications to reduce risk of Breast Cancer

Concerned about your risk of developing breast cancer? Did you know that there are medications you can take to reduce your risk of breast cancer? They are tamoxifen and raloxofene. These medications are most commonly used to treat and prevent recurrence of breast cancer, but now have a new indication to reduce risk of developing breast cancer.

Some risk factors for breast cancer include: BRCA1, BRCA2, HER2 mutations, Personal or Family history of breast or ovarian cancer, dense breasts, early age of first period, older age of last period, and being over age 50 years old.

You can get your mammograms starting age 40 and then every 2 years after that, but if you are in a high risk category, you can also take medication to try to prevent breast cancer and some females even decide to get a mastectomy too. If you have a family member who’s had breast cancer, you may want genetic testing (and that family member may be able to tell you if you need it). If you are in Tallahassee, Katie Farmer at TMH does genetic testing for our community and I’ve only heard wonderful things about her from our patients! She even does HER2 testing which is a little harder to find than BRCA1 and BRCA2.

Ask your PCP what your Gail Model Risk Score is and if you’re a candidate. This is newer info, so make sure your PCP is up to date on this option. Your doctor can find info about this in JAMA (which is a very prestigious medical journal).

#women #momlife #mentalhealth #breast #breastcancer #breastcancerawareness #breastcancersurvivor #breastcancerwarrior #mammogram #prevention #savethetatas