Talking with Family Members About Genetic Testing
If you had genetic testing because of a family or personal history of cancer that might be caused by an inherited gene change (mutation), it might be important to share the results with your family. Learn more about ways to have this discussion.
Why sharing results can be important
If a genetic test shows you have an inherited gene change that increases your risk for cancer:
- First-degree biological (blood) relatives (mother, father, sibling, child) have a 1 in 2 chance of having the same gene change.
- Second-degree biological relatives (aunt, uncle, grandparent, grandchild, niece, nephew, or half-sibling) have a 1 in 4 chance of having the same gene change.
Sharing your genetic test results with your family gives them a chance to make informed decisions. Family members can talk to their healthcare providers about ways to reduce their cancer risk, find cancer early, or seek genetic testing for themselves.
Which family members should I tell about my genetic test results?
When you get genetic test results, ask your genetic counselor or healthcare provider who else might need to know this information.
Some family members might not be affected by this information. Other family members might not want to know if they might be at increased risk, especially if there isn’t much they can do about it.
You also might decide that the time isn’t right to share the results with your family. But there really is no best time for everyone and every family.
Privacy concerns
Privacy might become an issue when many family members could be affected by a positive genetic test result and might need testing. Sometimes family secrets, such as paternity, adoptions, or other difficult issues might be found because of a genetic test result.
Planning to talk to family members
It can be stressful to talk with anyone about a health problem or test result. People often feel a range of emotions when learning about a positive genetic test result or family cancer syndrome. You and your family members might feel:
- Angry or scared about what it means to be at increased risk for cancer
- Guilty for possibly passing a gene change on to a child
- Empowered or relieved to have information they can do something about
Ask your healthcare team or genetic counselor to share experiences they’ve had with past family conversations. Knowing about other people’s experiences might help you feel better prepared.
Questions to answer before talking to family members
If you are sharing your own test results, here are some questions to ask yourself. These questions can also be helpful if you’re waiting to hear someone else’s results.
What to share
- Do I have all the information I need? What specific information am I going to share?
- Do I have good resources handy to share with my family members?
- Would it be helpful to have my genetic counselor write a family letter that includes the details of my test results?
Who to share with
- Who is at risk in my family?
- Which family members should I reach out to?
- Should I talk to one family member before others?
How to share
- What information am I comfortable sharing in person? What information would I prefer to share by letter or email or text?
- How do my family members like to communicate? Would they prefer a chat over coffee or an email?
- When should I tell my family members? Would it be better in person or through text or email?
Other considerations
- Are there any family or cultural beliefs I need to consider before telling my family?
- How am I feeling about sharing this information? Would it help if I talked to someone else before talking to family?
- How might my family member(s) react when I tell them about this?
Starting the conversation
Beginning the conversation can be the hardest part. A genetic counselor can provide a family letter that includes the specific gene change, the name of the family cancer syndrome, and other helpful resources. The letter can be sent to family members or used along with having a conversation.
If you’re sharing genetic test results, consider saying:
- I’d like to tell you about my genetic test results. I think my results could help you too. Is that ok with you?
- I am going to send you an email that has my recent genetic test results. I want you to have this information so you can decide if genetic testing might be helpful for you. Your healthcare team can help you decide.
- After my cancer diagnosis, my doctor had me meet with a genetic counselor. They helped me understand that my cancer risk was higher because I have a gene change. They told me my close relatives could have the same gene change. Can I give you some information so you can talk to your healthcare team about it?
Even if you share your results with family members and are concerned about their cancer risk, it is their own decision whether to get genetic testing. Encourage your family members to talk to someone about genetic testing. Their own healthcare team or genetic counselor can help them decide if it is right for them.
After you share your genetic test results with your family members, ask them if you could check back with them in a few weeks to see if they have questions or need help taking the next step.
Sharing results with children
If you have a gene change that might affect your children, you might not be sure if and when to tell them. It’s natural to want to protect children, but it is better for you to have a conversation with your children than for them to overhear a conversation and think the worst. Your genetic counselor, healthcare team, or a pediatrician can help you find resources to guide you through these discussions.
You might wonder if it’s a good idea to have your children go through genetic testing, or to wait until they are adults to decide for themselves. This might depend on the gene change. There are some family cancer syndromes that can affect children. In this situation, it could be helpful for them to be tested in childhood.
Most gene changes linked to cancer raise the risk for cancers that happen in adulthood. Because of this, most experts recommend waiting until children are at least 18 years of age before deciding about genetic testing. Your child might also want to wait until the age that cancer screening is usually started to get tested. Your healthcare team and genetic counselor can help you and your family decide.
- Written by
- References
The American Cancer Society medical and editorial content team
Our team is made up of doctors and oncology certified nurses with deep knowledge of cancer care as well as editors and translators with extensive experience in medical writing.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Let’s talk: Sharing info about your family cancer risk. 2024. Accessed at https://www.cdc.gov/cancer/risk-factors/family-health-history.html on February 26, 2026.
Facing Hereditary Cancer Empowered (FORCE). Sharing information with adult relatives. Accessed at https://www.facingourrisk.org/info/hereditary-cancer-and-genetic-testing/sharing-with-family/sharing-genetic-information-with-adult on February 26, 2026.
Facing Hereditary Cancer Empowered (FORCE). Speaking with Children and Teenagers About Inherited Cancer Risk. Accessed at https://www.facingourrisk.org/info/hereditary-cancer-and-genetic-testing/sharing-with-family/sharing-genetic-information-with-children on February 26, 2026.
Finn KS, Pacyna J, Tsou CA, Smadder NJ, Sharp R. Patient-reported anticipated barriers and benefits to sharing cancer genetic risk information with family members. European Journal of Human Genetics. 2022; 30:53-61. Available at https://www.nature.com/articles/s41431-021-00890-1.
Hodan R et al. Family communication of cancer genetic test results in an ethnically diverse population: a qualitative exploration of more than 200 patients. Journal of Community Genetics. 2024; 15:363-374.
Hunter JE et al. Most people share genetic test results with relatives even if findings are normal: Family communication in a diverse population. Genetics in Medicine. 2023; 25:100923. Available at https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37421176/.
Ofverholm A, Karlsson P, Rosen A. The experience of receiving a letter from a cancer genetics clinic about risk for hereditary cancer. European Journal of Human Genetics. 2024; 32:539-544.
Wilke RN, Bednar EM, Pirzadeh-Miller S, et al. Cascade genetic testing: an underutilized pathway to equitable cancer care? Fam Cancer. 2024;23(2):141-145. doi:10.1007/s10689-024-00367-2
Last Revised: May 12, 2026
American Cancer Society medical information is copyrighted material. For reprint requests, please see our Content Usage Policy.
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