Talking to Your Family About Risk
Talking to your family about your - and their - breast cancer risk can be complicated, emotionally loaded, and distressing. But it doesn't have to be. Some families are open to talking about the issues and getting detailed information about their family histories. Others aren't.
If your family isn't comfortable talking about breast cancer risk, here are some tips to help open communication and lower anxieties:
- Recognize that not everyone may be as comfortable as you are talking about breast cancer risk.
- Give family members time to adjust to the fact that you're pursuing genetic testing, or that you've already had it and want to share the results.
- If at first you find family members resistant, let them know you understand it's a very difficult issue to discuss. Tell them you'll approach them at a later time, when they've had some time to think about it.
- Get educational materials from your genetic counselor and/or doctor about genetic testing and risk, and share them with your family.
- Patience, patience, patience. It can take time for family members to come around. Some of them might want to remain in denial. Remember: denial is a natural reflex against emotions that feel too overwhelming. As long as you're taking the Right Action for you, you might have to let the issue go for a while, and revisit it later.
- Know that you're taking the Right Action, whether or not your family approves or follows in your footsteps. Of course you want all of your family members to be empowered with knowledge and make the right choices about their breast cancer risk. But if they don't, it's not your fault. You're doing the best you can by serving as a Right Action role model.
