HEREDITARY BREAST AND HEREDITARY OVARIAN CANCER: IMPLICATIONS FOR THE ONCOLOGY NURSE

OBJECTIVES: To review heredity cancer syndromes involving the breasts, ovaries, or breast and ovaries. To recommend useful professional and patient resources on cancer genetics. A case study of germline BRCA genetic testing after allogeneic bone marrow transplant is presented. DATA SOURCES: National guidelines, evidence-based summaries, peerreviewed studies, editorials, and professional Web sites. CONCLUSION: Advancing genetic/genomic technology in oncology has led to a renaissance of information about hereditary cancer syndromes. IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING PRACTICE: Nursing competence in genetics/genomics is necessary to provide evidence-based, personalized care for individuals with cancer. Resources are available to help nurses provide quality cancer genetic informed care.