Importance of Family Medical History
In one sentence, family medical history can identify people with a higher-than-usual chance of having common disorders, such as heart disease, high blood pressure, stroke, certain cancers, and diabetes.
Why has my doctor asked about my family history?
Many of us have heard a doctor ask the question: do you have a family history of _______? The answer is actually quite simple. Chronic diseases such as cancer, diabetes, heart conditions, brain disorders and many more tend to run in families. How? Genes containing increased risk for these diseases are based down generation to generation. Your doctor is using this to guess at your risk for a particular condition, to determine what treatment or testing to prescribe next. Often doctors ask this question to try and arrive at a diagnosis.
If it runs in my family does it guarantee I will get it?
A strong family history increases the risk (due to the increased likelihood of having those genes). But having a family history does not guarantee you will get the disease effecting your family in almost all cases.
Can you share an example?
Absolutely. Angelia Jolie has publicly revealed she has a strong family history of cancer. Her mother died from cancer. The mostly like cause was harmful mutations in the BRCA genes. So she decided to test her BRCA genes and found after a positive result, her doctors estimated her risk for developing breast cancer was 87% and her risk for developing ovarian cancer was 50%. An 87% risk means the chances she may develop cancer far outweigh her change of avoiding it. Angelina Jolie then had her breasts and ovaries surgically removed to reduce her risk of breast cancer to under 5%; a massive drop.
Read the entire story here.
How would family history help cancer treatment?
Continuing the same example: BRCA genes are used primarily for three purposes. First, to reveal risk to breast and ovarian cancer. Second, if the test result is positive to test family members to see if they are at increased risk to several different types of cancer. Third, to guide cancer treatment. Certain cancer treatments such as PARP inhibitors (recently available in India) are usually only given if the patient is BRCA positive. The likelihood of BRCA genes being positive increases with a family history. And that’s why your doctor may ask you about your family history.
How else may family medical history affect my cancer treatment?
A strong family history of cancer, in certain cases, may lead to your doctor choosing a more aggressive treatment approach. Treatment of cancer may change for cancer patients with a strong family history. Family members may opt for genetic testing such as MyRisk by Myriad Genetics, which is available in India. MyRisk can test for many common cancers in India.
If my doctor doesn’t ask me, shall I share my family medical history?
Yes, you should discuss it with your doctor. And you should discuss it with your family to see if they would like to opt-in for cancer testing. Family history is not the only cause of cancers however, lifestyle and environmental factors, such as smoking, play an important role as well.
If you are recently diagnosed with cancer, want to know more about cancer, risk factors, cancer symptoms, cancer treatments, cancer tests or anything related to cancer, please write to info@positivebioscience.com
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