What Are The Chances Of Me Getting Cancer Like My Relatives?
If cancer (any type) has been common in grandparents, great grandparents etc what are the chances that i will get some kind of cancer when i am older? Even when i live a healthy life and have not/do not smoke or drink?
Tarkarri said,
January 30, 2010 @ 12:33 pm
There are hundreds of different types of cancers that have no genetic link.
Only 5% of cancers have a genetic link.
The biggest risk factor is AGE, so the way to avoid this one is to die young ……… not good!
The next biggest risk factor is ENVIRONMENT. This includes smoking, alcohol consumption, diet, weight, exercise, UV exposure, chemical exposure etc. To avoid this one, don’t smoke, avoid excessive alcohol consumption, maintain a healthy weight, eat a balanced diet, exercise regularly, use sunscrean, and try to avoid exposure to known nasties!
Genetic risk factors are low on the list, and there is nothing that we can do to avoid them.
Take care of your health, avoid the enviromentatl risks and have regular checkups, remember that if you do develope cancer, one of the keys to survival is early diagnosis and treatment. Don’t be paranoid, as stress is also a risk factor, but take responsibility for your health, and hopefully age will always be your biggest risk factor!
Heaven bound said,
January 30, 2010 @ 1:04 pm
cancer does not hve to run in the family to get cancer. I have bladder cancer and no one inmy family ever had it. Cancer can strike anyone at any age any time. If you start getting serious symptoms go to the doctor. If you are going to get cancer later on you will get it regardless whether it runs in your family.
lo_mcg said,
January 30, 2010 @ 5:50 pm
Well, most cancers are random and not inherited; nobody knows what causes them.
You don’t say what type of cancer your relatives had; you can inherit a tendency to get SOME particular cancers (not all), but you won’t definitely get that cancer. Some cancers are not hereditary at all – bone cancer is one.
Scientists have identified some high risk faulty genes but these are rare in the general population. One example of a high risk gene is BRCA1. Women who carry a faulty BRCA1 gene have an 80% chance of getting breast cancer at some point in their lives – but this still means that one in five of women with the gene will not get breast cancer. (Only 5 – 10 % of breast cancer cases are caused by hereditary factors)
Doctors who specialise in this area think that the younger you are when a cancer occurs, the more likely it is that an inherited genetic tendency has played a part.
It’s best not to worry about it. Both my parents had cancer and my mother died of it. Their six children are now all in their 40s and 50s and only one (me) has had cancer, and my cancer was non-hereditary and unconnected to theirs – just random, like most cancers.
CharJ, said,
January 30, 2010 @ 8:39 pm
I lost both my parents to cancer within 5 years of one another. My siblings and I are just waiting to see who’s next.
Beau.Gus said,
January 30, 2010 @ 9:08 pm
We ALL have about a 1-in-4 chance of developing some form of cancer during a lifetime; having relatives that had a specific form of cancer just impacts what KIND of cancer you are more likely to get, typically it doesn’t change your chances beyond that 1-in-4.
Eat right, exercise regularly, don’t smoke, drink alcohol moderately, and you will extend and enjoy your life….but one thing is 100% certain, you WILL die eventually!