FORCE Conference

There are several issues parents should consider before broaching the subject of genetic cancer risk with their children, explains Karen Hurley, a psychologist with the Cleveland Clinic.

Finding out that you have a BRCA or other mutation that increases your risk of cancer is a frightening and often confusing prospect, but even one supportive voice can make a huge difference.

Alan Blassberg, Director/Producer of Pink and Blue: Colors of Hereditary Cancer, discusses being a male BRCA carrier.

Sharon Bober, PhD, discusses how patients can ask their doctors about sexual health.

Those considering mastectomy to help prevent inherited breast cancer, or because they’ve been diagnosed with the disease, are likely to find themselves sorting through a host of complex questions.

For women genetically predisposed to ovarian cancer, prevention is extremely important. But what are the most effective and least invasive prevention techniques, and when is the best time in life to employ them?

Knowing that you have an inherited gene mutation can allow you and your family members to look into prevention or detect a cancer at an early stage.

Angela Fishbaugh, author of "Angela's Decision," discusses how to discover your skills and story within.

Ilana Cass, M.D. of Cedars-Sinai Medical Center discusses some of the unknown potential side effects of preventive surgery for ovarian cancer.

Sue Friedman, executive director and founder of FORCE, is a hereditary breast cancer survivor herself and has been concentrating on being the support system for others that she didn’t have when she was going through her battle 20 years ago.

The program XRAYS is a resource to help patients, survivors and their loved ones make sense of the articles on hereditary cancer they see in the mainstream media and via social media platforms.

While genetic testing for cancer has some obvious benefits, it also creates ethical dilemmas in many cases.