What Women with Breast Cancer Discuss with Clinicians About Risk for Their Adolescent Daughters

Abstract

Recorded conversations between women undergoing BRCA genetic counseling with clinicians (N = 16) and follow-up consultation letters (N = 16) were analyzed to determine how and when communicating genetic risk information to women's adolescent daughters is discussed. Themes from conversations included mothers’ worries about their daughters, perceptions of their daughters’ coping, educational information, and clinicians’ willingness or reluctance to communicate directly with daughters about their genetic risk. Letters referred to daughters when informing mothers about autosomal dominant inheritance patterns, psychosocial considerations, and screening recommendations. Results inform the value of educating mothers about how they might discuss these issues with their adolescent daughters.

KEYWORDS:

• breast cancer
• daughters
• genetics
• communication
• risk information
• health promotion

Acknowledgments

The authors thank Oki-Data Americas who provided funding for this research to Dr. Kissane. This research was also sponsored in part by a National Institute of Health Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Award (NRSA) Institutional Training Grant (T32).