'Going-to-have-cancerness': a study of living with increased risk of BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutations for six South Island women.

Introduction: Mutations in the BRCA (breast cancer) 1 and 2 genes are thought to lead to 5-10% of breast cancers.

Aim: A qualitative study to explore six New Zealand women's experiences of living with increased risk for a genetic susceptibility to breast cancer.

Methods: Six women were interviewed using semi-structured interviews, to explore their experiences of living at high risk for developing breast cancer due to familial and/or individual genetic susceptibilities.