Screening saves lives. That’s the message Jeffrey Stevens, DO, wants you to remember. As medical director of the Family Risk Assessment Program at Pottstown Memorial Regional Cancer Center, he wants to spread the word about a genetic test that can determine if you need increased screening for cancer.

“A simple blood test can tell us if a patient carries the gene mutation that leads to breast or ovarian cancer,” says Dr. Stevens. “With screening and treatments, we can help prevent cancer from developing.”

Certain women who have breast or ovarian cancer should be tested to see if they carry a mutation on a “breast cancer gene” known as BRCA1 and BRCA2, he explains. If your sibling or parent has breast or ovarian cancer, you may be eligible for testing for the altered gene.

But you won’t have to grapple with the results alone. The Family Risk Assessment Program includes extensive counseling before and after the blood test to help you understand the impact of the results.

“Being a carrier has profound implications,” notes Dr. Stevens.

“Your risk for breast cancer could be as high as 80 percent and your risk for ovarian cancer could be as high as 50 percent. So we really go the extra mile to counsel the patients so that they know the results, what they mean and what treatment options are available.”

If results indicate an increased risk, “we start screening more aggressively, because screening saves lives,” Dr. Stevens explains. For women, this includes yearly mammograms, clinical breast exams by a physician, and MRIs of the breast. Other options include prescribing drugs that could lower risk, such as tamoxifen for breast cancer, or surgical removal of the breasts or ovaries to dramatically reduce cancer risk.

The Family Risk Assessment Program is not for women only. “Men who are carriers of this genetic mutation can be at risk for breast and prostate cancer,” Dr. Stevens notes.

To learn more about the Family Risk Assessment Program, contact the Pottstown Memorial Regional Cancer Center, part of the Fox Chase Cancer Network, at 610-327-7555.