The increasing availability of genetic testing enables other family members who have not yet developed breast cancer to determine if they have inherited the risk; those with a mutation are known as previvors. Once a previvor is identified, they are faced with complicated, and often difficult, decisions regarding prophylactic surgery, chemoprevention or aggressive screening. Persons considering genetic testing need to understand the potential impact of testing for themselves and family including recommended measures for management before undergoing testing. Further nursing research is needed to identify the best means to communicate risk and genetic testing results.
Approximately 10% of all women diagnosed with breast cancer have a genetic predisposition most commonly associated with mutations in BRCA1/BRCA2.
Nurses and midwives who provide postnatal care need to receive training in identification and psychological intervention methods to prevent depression. They will need to provide more visits to all mothers within the first 12-month postdelivery. Further randomised controlled trials (RCTs) in this area should utilise midwives/health visitors (HVs) as the administrators of the intervention. They should also seek control for the increased number of contacts associated with interventions of this nature. There is a need for further RCTs in postnatal care to disentangle the effects of perceived support, the therapeutic relationship and the psychological intervention.
Approximately 13% of mothers experience postnatal depression (PND).