Certain mutations in the BRCA gene can cause an increased risk of breast cancer. People that have a higher risk of developing breast cancer can manage this risk in three different ways—intensive surveillance, medication, or surgery.

Freya R. Schnabel, MD, the director of breast surgery at NYU Langone’s Perlmutter Cancer Center, spoke with SurvivorNet to explain the differences between the three options for managing the risk in these patients. “When I meet with women who are at increased risk for breast cancer because of BRCA mutations, I like to talk about the three options that they have for managing their risk,” Dr. Schnabel says. Each option is different and offers women a unique approach, but one option does lower risk more than others. “Surgery is the option that will lower a woman’s risk as low as we can get it.”

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