Yes, you can. When women learn that breast cancer can be a genetic disease, they often think this means it is a disease that must be inherited. But that's not the case. A genetic disease is one that is caused by a genetic mutation that is either inherited or arises spontaneously. Only about 30 percent of the women who develop breast cancer have a family history of the disease. The other 70 percent have what is called a "sporadic occurrence." This means there is no known family history of the disease.
|
