Dr. Thaïs Aliabadi

For any woman with family history of breast cancer, ovarian cancer, pancreatic cancer, prostate cancer, and the list goes on and on, they can ask their doctor to see if they qualify for genetic cancer testing.

The company I use in my office I've used for, I don't know, over 10 years is Marriott.

And the reason I use this specific company, there are a lot of companies that check for genetic cancer testing, right?

They check 80, 90 genes.

I think Marriott only checks 63 genes, which is fine.

But so not only Myriad checks you for the cancer-causing genes, they also calculate your tire cusick for you so the doctor can see it.

But in addition to that, Myriad takes your tire cusick and also looks in the DNA for tiny little markers.

These are not main genetic mutations.

They're tiny little markers that individually don't have that much power.

But some women walk around with tons of these markers and

And they add the Tyrecusic with these markers and they give you a risk score.

Sometimes I have a patient whose Tyrecusic is 19%, but when you calculate their risk score, it jumps up to 34%.

So for patients who fall into the very high risk category, north of 35%, those patients have the choice of either doing imaging every six months, alternating mammogram ultrasound with MRI, or asking their doctor for a medication called tamoxifen.

That reduces the risk of breast cancer by 50% in the next 10 years of their life, or ask for a double mastectomy, which is exactly what I did.

And I'm just going to end it by this.

I was 48.

I had no family history of breast cancer.

85% of women who get breast cancer don't have it in their family.

Less than 5% have a genetic mutation.

Most Americans who get it are just like me.