What Parents Tell Their Kids About Breast-Cancer Gene Test Results - Health Blog - WSJ

Blogger's Note: this has been an area of much discussion and debate over many years which not only includes age issues (age of majority-adult) but also ethical dilemmas (eg. because you carry a mutation the risk of a cancer varies and does always mean a cancer diagnosis).
 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"If you were tested for the “breast cancer gene” — mutations in the BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes that raise the risk of breast, ovarian and other cancers — would you tell your children?...."

"There isn’t much to do with the information for that age group: kids who learn that a parent carries a BRCA mutation aren’t advised to have the test themselves until at least age 18, and any additional screening resulting from a positive result wouldn’t likely begin until age 25, says Angela Bradbury, lead author of the study and the director of breast and ovarian cancer risk assessment at Fox Chase Cancer Center in Philadelphia......"