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Your family health history is a record of the diseases and conditions that run in your family. Relatives share habits, environments and sometimes gene changes that affect cancer risk. If certain cancers run in your family, your own risk may be higher — so learn your family's history and share it with your doctor.
What to gather
Collect information about yourself and your blood relatives:
- parents and grandparents;
- aunts and uncles;
- sisters and brothers;
- nieces and nephews;
- children.
Leave out step-relatives and anyone else not related by blood. Where possible, find out:
- who had cancer, and what kind;
- how old they were at diagnosis;
- whether they are living — and if not, their age at death and its cause.
If you can't get it all, collect what you can: some information is better than none.
How to collect it
- Ask at family gatherings, and respectfully ask relatives to fill gaps and check what you remember.
- Look through family records, death certificates and obituaries.
- CDC's My Family Health Portrait: Cancer app (for Android and iOS) helps you record your family's cancer history and understand your risk of breast, ovarian and colorectal cancer.
CDC's short video Every Piece Matters explains how cancer in the family can affect your risk, and why to share it with your provider; the interactive Let's Talk helps you practice talking about cancer risk with family.
When to tell your doctor
A family history of breast, ovarian, uterine or colorectal cancer may mean higher risk. Tell your doctor if:
- a relative was diagnosed before age 50 with uterine, breast or colorectal cancer;
- two or more relatives on the same side of the family had uterine, breast or colorectal cancer;
- a female relative had ovarian cancer;
- a male relative had breast cancer;
- you have Eastern European or Ashkenazi Jewish ancestry.
Your family history can help you and your doctor decide which screening tests you need, when to start and how often — and whether genetic counseling or testing is right for you.
Genetic counseling and testing
If your history suggests higher risk, your doctor can refer you to genetic counseling. A genetic counselor reviews your own and your family's health history and helps you decide about testing. A genetic test looks at the DNA in your saliva or blood for changes (mutations) that may raise your risk.
A mutation doesn't mean you will get cancer. Talk to your doctor about:
- screening — starting earlier, testing more often, or with different tests;
- medicines or surgery that can lower your risk;
- healthy choices — not smoking, drinking less alcohol or none, exercising, keeping a healthy weight.
Two common hereditary conditions
| Condition | Higher risk of |
|---|---|
| Hereditary breast and ovarian cancer syndrome (HBOC) | breast, ovarian, advanced prostate and pancreatic cancers |
| Lynch syndrome | colorectal, uterine and ovarian cancers |
More: videos Breaking Down BRCA, Bring It to the Table and What Should I Know About My Family History of Breast Cancer?; and tips on telling family about a BRCA mutation or a Lynch syndrome diagnosis.
Sources
Based on "Family Health History and Cancer," Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; a work of the United States government in the public domain. The source's stock family photograph and its screenshot of the Let's Talk tool are not reproduced.
Licenza: CC0 1.0 (pubblico dominio) · Tratto da www.cdc.gov
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