Los Angeles, California - September 12, 2011
Startling new information about the occurrence of breast and ovarian cancer in women who carry a mutated gene.
For 42 years twins Kelly and Laura have shared just about everything. Two years ago, when Kelly got breast cancer they found out something else they shared, the breast and ovarian cancer gene called BRCA One.
"It's not the news you want to hear, especially when you have two sisters, a mother, a daughter and a niece," said Kelly McSpirit Hanlon.
Their younger sister doesn't have the gene. Kelly had a double mastectomy and her ovaries removed -- so did Laura.
"I wasn't going to sit around and wait for cancer to get me. I said you know what I'm getting you first," Laura McSpirit said.
A new study of women with the BRCA gene shows each subsequent generation of carriers seems to be getting cancer earlier than the last.
"The age moved down by about 7.9 years from one generation to the next and that is a significant age gap," said Dr. Freya Schnabel, with New York University's Langone Medical Center.
And women with this gene are much more likely to get breast cancer in the first place. They have a 60-percent risk of developing it compared to 12-percent of all women.
The twins inherited their gene from their father's side of the family. "It makes sense, because my aunt on my father's side, she received breast cancer in her 50s. I was in my 40s -- my cousin, her daughter was in her 30s," Kelly said.
"Women who know they have a BRCA 1 or 2 mutation, they should begin to be screened approximately 10 years younger than the age of diagnosis of the closest relative," Dr. Schnabel said.
Kelly and Laura both have daughters. "I know I'm just assuming she has it, I'd rather know for sure," Kelly said.
But they plan to wait until their daughters are old enough to make the decision about being tested for themselves.
CBS News
