{"id":316,"date":"2013-08-05T10:49:08","date_gmt":"2013-08-05T14:49:08","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.hnetalk.com\/Employer\/?p=316"},"modified":"2013-08-05T10:49:08","modified_gmt":"2013-08-05T14:49:08","slug":"brca-testing-for-breast-cancer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/hnetalk.com\/employer\/2013\/08\/05\/brca-testing-for-breast-cancer\/","title":{"rendered":"BRCA Testing for Breast Cancer"},"content":{"rendered":"<p style=\"text-align: left;\" align=\"center\"><span style=\"line-height: 1.4em;\"><a href=\"http:\/\/03c4283.netsolhost.com\/employer\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/08\/wellness.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright  wp-image-341\" title=\"wellness\" src=\"http:\/\/03c4283.netsolhost.com\/employer\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/08\/wellness-300x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"180\" height=\"180\" srcset=\"http:\/\/hnetalk.com\/employer\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/08\/wellness-300x300.jpg 300w, http:\/\/hnetalk.com\/employer\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/08\/wellness-150x150.jpg 150w, http:\/\/hnetalk.com\/employer\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/08\/wellness-250x250.jpg 250w, http:\/\/hnetalk.com\/employer\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/08\/wellness.jpg 320w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 180px) 100vw, 180px\" \/><\/a>BRCA (an acronym for the full name of the gene) genetic testing for breast cancer is a hot topic these days. Angelina Jolie\u2019s recent announcement of her prophylactic double mastectomy has created an upswing in questions about the test. Here ere are some of the most common questions:<\/span><\/p>\n<p><strong>What is BRCA testing?<\/strong> There are two breast cancer susceptibility genes \u2014 BRCA1 and BRCA2. The BRCA gene test is a blood test that uses DNA analysis to identify harmful changes (mutations) in either one of them. Mutations in these genes are hereditary \u2014 passed on from parent to child. Women who have inherited mutations in these genes face a much higher risk of developing breast and ovarian cancer. Women who inherit a harmful mutation in <em>BRCA1<\/em> or <em>BRCA2<\/em> are about five times more likely to develop breast cancer.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Who needs BRCA testing?<\/strong> Anyone with a personal or family history of breast or ovarian cancer should speak to her doctor about being tested. Testing is also suggested for members of certain ethnic groups, such as Ashkenazi Jews. These groups are known to be at greater risk than the general population. <em>If a person has no personal or family history of breast or ovarian cancer, then the test may not be necessary.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><strong>How is it done? <\/strong>The BRCA test is a simple blood test. Blood can be drawn by a primary care provider (PCP). The blood sample is sent to a laboratory that specializes in genetic testing.<\/p>\n<p><strong>What if the results are positive?<\/strong> There are several options available, including the following possible steps:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Increased surveillance and screening<\/li>\n<li>Preventive surgery, including a bilateral mastectomy and removal of the ovaries<\/li>\n<li>Chemotherapy drugs, such as Tamoxifen, for prevention<\/li>\n<li>Risk avoidance<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Members should talk to their doctor about the option that may be best for them.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Will HNE health insurance pay for the test?<\/strong> Yes, HNE covers BRCA testing for those who meet clinical criteria. This includes those with a personal or family history of the disease. For questions about coverage, members can contact Member Services at 413.787.4004 or 800.310.2835.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Where can I find more information about genetic testing?<\/strong> Anyone considering genetic testing should speak with a professional trained in genetics. These professionals include doctors, genetic counselors, and other health care workers trained in genetics.<\/p>\n<p><em>\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>BRCA (an acronym for the full name of the gene) genetic testing for breast cancer is a hot topic these days. Angelina Jolie\u2019s recent announcement of her prophylactic double mastectomy has created an upswing in questions about the test. Here ere are some of the most common questions: What is BRCA testing? There are two [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":341,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[8],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-316","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-insidehne-august-2013"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"http:\/\/hnetalk.com\/employer\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/08\/wellness.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p6ZZu3-56","_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/hnetalk.com\/employer\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/316","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/hnetalk.com\/employer\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/hnetalk.com\/employer\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/hnetalk.com\/employer\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/hnetalk.com\/employer\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=316"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/hnetalk.com\/employer\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/316\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/hnetalk.com\/employer\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/341"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/hnetalk.com\/employer\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=316"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/hnetalk.com\/employer\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=316"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/hnetalk.com\/employer\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=316"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}