Looking at family photos often illustrates uncanny family likenesses, but the similarities don’t stop at a big nose or curly hair – family trees often hold the key to our future health as well.
Any relative who has had a stroke or heart attack under the age of 60 might flag a higher family risk. And while most ovarian and breast cancers aren’t usually inherited, some patients can inherit a faulty BRCA gene, and this significantly raises your risk of breast or ovarian cancer.
Mental illness can also be inherited. This is often not spoken about, as family members may be ashamed of diagnoses such as schizophrenia or manic depression.
Delving into the family tree during a patient consultation is done so doctors can fully understand your health risks, not because they are being inquisitive.
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Any disease that occurred in a family member 10–20 years before most people normally get the disease is relevant. So are combinations of diseases, such as breast and ovarian cancer or heart disease and diabetes.
A specific disease appearing in more than one blood relative should also raise suspicion. Plus, something unusual like breast cancer in a male or a heart attack in a young female relative should be flagged.
Ask questions of elderly relatives and probe them further on the details. We can only screen early for diseases that we know we are susceptible to, and we can only know our susceptibilities based on those crucial conversations with our nearest and dearest.
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Feature Image: Pexels
Copy adapted from past Woman&Home print issue.
