Genetic research is clearly a relevant scientific issue in this century. On very few occasions, however, has it been analysed from a psychoanalytical perspective. This paper discusses the family-related risk of breast cancer from a psychoanalytical approach. The positions of four women who underwent genetic research are evaluated, based on a regional study carried out by the Instituto da Mama do Rio Grande do Sul, associated with the Banco Nacional de DNA with the purpose of verifying the occurrence of the genetic mutation responsible for the heredity of breast cancer. The paper discusses the technological influences on subjectivity and the position concerning heredity, inheritance and illness. This research is part of a study entitled “Psychoanalytical study on breast cancer” and is included in a Project of the Banco Nacional de DNA, sponsored by the Brazilian Health Ministry.
Breast cancer; genetic research and psychoanalysis