Jimmy Carter’s cancer revelation: What do you do with a family history of cancer?

The GLP aggregated and excerpted this blog/article to reflect the diversity of news, opinion and analysis. 

One look at President Jimmy Carter’s family history, and you have to wonder whether he and his relatives live in fear.

His brother, father and two sisters all died from pancreatic cancer. His mother had breast cancer that later moved to her pancreas. Now Carter, 90, has melanoma that has been found in his liver and brain. The exact cause of the cancer isn’t clear; some 98 percent of melanomas start with the skin.

But Carter’s pedigree certainly raises suspicion of a sinister gene passed from generation to generation.

Genetic counselors say one thing is for sure: Many families are cursed with cancer, and it can be absolutely terrifying.

But just because family members had cancer doesn’t necessarily mean you’ll get cancer. There are many variables: Who in your family has had cancer — close or distant relatives? Were they from one side of the family or both? Did they get cancer at a young age, when cancer is rare, or at an older age, when cancer is more common?

If you’ve noticed cases of cancer in your family, the first thing to do is speak with a genetic counselor. Certain family history patterns signal there might be a bad gene in the family, while other patterns might point to a fluke.

Read full, original post: Jimmy Carter’s cancer: What a family history of cancer means for you

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