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Hi Kevin and Sue:
Here's another pov on this -- this is just from my experience. Genetic counseling and BRCA blood testing are 2 different things. First, you talk to a genetics counselor, who will determine your risk, which depends on your family history (other cancer cases in the family, especially breast and ovarian) and ethnicity (European Jews and a few other groups have higher BRCA rates). Insurance coverage and your decision to test may depend on what the genetic counselor estimates. From what I recall, they recommended testing if you had 10% (not sure about this figure) or higher chance of carrying the gene (I had a 10% chance, was tested, was negative.) If you have no other family members with BRCA type cancers, etc, the risk might be so low that testing might not be covered by insurance, or recommended. So -- you might want to talk to a genetics counselor, even if you don't end up testing.
As the other women said, it's unusual for her+ to be also be BRCA pos (but not unheard of.)
Best, Linda
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