Medical Oncologist
CION Cancer Clinics
Should you find out whether you carry the family gene? | CION Cancer Clinics
You do not have to be tested just because a relative carries a gene fault. Knowing can open the door to earlier screening and choices about prevention, but it also brings information you cannot give back. This page helps you think through what knowing would change for you, what it would not, and how to make the decision at your own pace with a genetic counsellor. At CION Cancer Clinics, our team helps carriers and their families plan checks, next steps and support after a genetic result.
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Medically reviewed by Dr. Naresh GunduConsultant Medical Oncologist · MBBS, DNB (Internal Medicine), DM (Medical Oncology, AIIMS) · last reviewed September 2026, next review due September 2027
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On this page
- Do you have to find out whether you carry the family gene?
- Why people choose to know, and why some choose to wait
- How can you make the decision without rushing?
- The words you will hear, in plain language
- What a result can change, and what it cannot
- Four things families say about knowing, and what is true
- What this page cannot tell you
- Common questions about deciding whether to know
The short answer
Do you have to find out whether you carry the family gene?
No. A predictive test is a choice, and saying "not now" or "not ever" is a legitimate answer. A relative's result gives you the option to know. It does not create a duty to find out. Counsellors see people make both choices, and a good one will not judge either.
What knowing can offer
If you carry the fault, screening can start earlier and be closer, and you can weigh options that lower your risk. Your children can be told what to watch for when they are older. If you do not carry it, you may be spared years of extra scans and worry.
What knowing can cost
A result cannot be unlearned. Some people find a positive result hard to carry, even when they expected it. It can stir guilt, fear and tension in the family. India also has no law written specifically to protect genetic information from insurers, which is worth thinking about before you test.
Choosing to wait is a decision too. It is not a failure to decide.Both sides
Why people choose to know, and why some choose to wait
There is no right answer that fits every family. These are the reasons people most often give, in both directions.
Reasons people test
Most people who test want to act on the answer, or want the uncertainty to end. For many, not knowing had become the heavier load.
- To start screening at the right time
- To consider preventive options
- To know what to tell their children
- To stop wondering
Reasons people wait
Waiting is common, and it is often sensible for a time. A result you are not ready for is harder to use well.
- A result would not change anything yet
- They are grieving a relative
- They want insurance in place first
- They are not ready to hear it
Reasons that deserve a second look
Testing mainly to calm a parent, to satisfy a future in-law or because a sibling insists can leave you holding a result you did not want. Your own reasons should carry the most weight.
Timing matters as much as the choice
Board exams, a wedding, a pregnancy or a new job are hard times to take on news like this. For faults that raise risk only in adult life, waiting a few months rarely changes the medical picture. Your counsellor can tell you whether it does in your case.
Not sure whether this applies to you?
Ask an oncologistWorking it through
How can you make the decision without rushing?
Ask what a result would change
At your pre-test session, ask exactly what would be done differently if you carry the fault, and if you do not. If the honest answer is "very little for now", you have more time.
Picture both answers
Imagine hearing each result. Who would you call first? What would you do the next morning? People who rehearse both outcomes often cope better with whichever one arrives.
Sort out the practical side
Check your health and life insurance, and ask what the test costs. Some people arrange cover before testing, because a result can raise questions on a proposal form later.
Decide who you will tell
Choose, in advance, who will hear the result and who will not. You can take a person you trust to the result session.
Choose a time, or choose not yet
You can say yes, no, or later. You can also stop after the sample is taken, before the result is given.
In the counselling room
The words you will hear, in plain language
- Predictive test
- A test in a well person for a gene fault already found in a relative. It tells you whether you carry that fault, not whether you will get cancer.
- Pre-test counselling
- A session before any sample is taken, to talk through what the test can and cannot tell you and what you would do with each answer.
- Carrier
- Someone who has inherited a fault but does not have cancer. A carrier is not a patient.
- Informed consent
- Your agreement to be tested, given after you understand the benefits, limits and effects on your family. You can withdraw it.
- Cascade testing
- Offering the test to relatives one step at a time, starting with the closest, once a fault is found in the family.
- Right not to know
- The accepted principle that nobody should be pushed into learning their genetic status against their wishes.
Side by side
What a result can change, and what it cannot
Knowing can change
Knowing cannot change
When your screening starts and what it includes
Whether you carry the fault, which was settled at birth
Whether preventive options are open to you
Whether you will definitely develop cancer
What your children can be offered later
Your relatives' results, which are each their own
How much guessing your family lives with
How you will feel on the day you hear it
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Commonly believed
Four things families say about knowing, and what is true
"My sister tested, so I have to test too."
Each adult decides for themselves. Your sister's result gives you the option. Brothers and sisters in the same family often make different choices, and both can be reasonable.
"Not testing means I am ignoring the risk."
You can still be watched closely using the family history alone. Many people who decline testing follow a screening plan faithfully. Declining the test is different from declining care.
"Once I see a counsellor, I have to take the test."
Counselling is there to help you decide, and a good counsellor is as comfortable with a no as with a yes. Plenty of people attend, think it over, and choose not to test, or not yet.
"A negative result would mean I am completely safe."
It means you do not carry the family fault, so your risk drops back towards that of the general population. That risk is not zero. Ordinary screening for your age still applies.
Being straight with you
What this page cannot tell you
It cannot tell you whether to test. That decision is yours, and it is best made with a genetic counsellor who knows which fault runs in your family, what it means for someone your age, and what would be offered to you either way. What your family's specific variant means is a question for the counsellor who ordered the relative's test.
It cannot predict how you will react
People are often surprised by their own feelings, in both directions. Some who feared a positive result cope well. Some who expected a negative one feel unsettled or guilty when they get it. Studies on how people in India cope with predictive results are few, so much of what is known comes from other countries.
Who this does not apply to
This page is for people whose relative has a confirmed gene fault. If nobody in your family has been tested, the first test usually belongs to the relative who has had cancer. Most people with one relative diagnosed later in life do not need a genetic test at all.
Questions we are asked
Common questions about deciding whether to know
Can I have counselling without agreeing to a test?
Yes. Pre-test counselling exists to help you decide, and many people come away choosing to wait. You can ask every question you have, take the information home, and come back when you are ready. Nothing is booked until you agree to it.
Should I test before or after marriage?
There is no single right time. Some people prefer to know before marriage so that decisions about children and screening can be shared honestly. Others wait until after. Think about what you would do with the result at each stage, and discuss it with your counsellor first.
How long can I take to decide?
As long as you need, within reason. For most faults that raise risk in adult life, a delay of weeks or months does not change the medical picture. Ask your counsellor whether your age or the gene involved makes the timing more pressing for you.
Will a result affect my insurance?
It might. India has no specific law protecting genetic results from insurers, and the question has been argued in court rather than settled. Some people arrange health and life cover before testing. Raise this before the sample is taken, not after the result arrives.
Can I be tested without my family knowing?
Yes. Your result is confidential and is shared only with people you agree to. Many people later choose to tell close relatives, because the result may matter for them too. That choice stays with you.
My parents want me to test and I do not. What now?
Their worry usually comes from love and from watching someone they love go through cancer. Tell them you are taking it seriously and are following screening advice. Offer to bring them to a counselling session, where the counsellor can explain that the choice is yours.
Can I change my mind after giving the sample?
Yes. You can ask for the result not to be given to you, or to be held until you are ready. Tell your counsellor as early as you can. Changing your mind is common and nobody will think less of you for it.
If I decide not to know, what screening should I have?
Your doctor can plan screening from your family history alone, as if you might carry the fault. That can mean more scans than you need, which is one reason some people eventually test. Ask your oncologist to write the plan down for you.
Your Specialists
Meet CION's oncologists. Bring your family history or genetic report to them.
Our medical oncologists see people with a strong family history of cancer, arrange genetic counselling and testing where it fits, and plan the checks that follow.
Medical Oncologist
Dr. C. Raghavendra Reddy
MBBS(Gold Medal), DNB(General Medicine), DM(Medical Oncology)(Gold Medal)
Medical Oncologist
Dr. Bharati Devi Gorantla
MBBS, MD(General Medicine), DM(Medical Oncology)(Adyar,Chennai), ECMO, MRCP SCE(UK)
Medical Oncologist
Dr. Owais Mohammed
MBBS, MD (General Medicine), DrNB (Medical Oncology), ECMO, MRCP SCE (Medical Oncology) (UK)
Medical Oncologist
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Sources
- National Cancer Institute — Genetic Testing for Inherited Cancer Risk
- MedlinePlus Genetics — What are the risks and limitations of genetic testing?
- MedlinePlus Genetics — What are the benefits of genetic testing?
- National Cancer Institute — Cancer Genetics Risk Assessment and Counseling (PDQ)
This page is general information, not a prescription. Do not change or stop any treatment based on what you read here. If anything is worrying you, contact your own treating team — or call our helpline and we will help you reach the right specialist.
Keep reading
Related pages
The right not to knowWhy declining a test is protected, and how to say itWaiting for a predictive resultIf you decide to test, the weeks that followThe emotional weight of a genetic resultWhat people feel after a result, in both directionsTalking to someone who refuses to be testedIf you are the relative hoping someone will test
Talk to us
Want to talk it through before you decide?
A pre-test conversation does not commit you to a test. We can arrange time with a genetic counsellor so you can ask everything first, in Telugu if you prefer. One helpline serves every CION centre.