Genetic cancer can be stopped

Knowing your family’s history of cancer can protect you from cancer. Many people may not think about whether there is genetic cancer in the family, but if many of your family members have had colon cancer, uterine cancer (but not cervical cancer), breast cancer, or ovarian cancer, then you should consider whether there is. Primary cancer hereditary factors.

There is a common misconception that reproductive system cancer and breast cancer only affect women. This is a mistake. When there is a genetic basis for breast or ovarian cancer, the so-called BRCA syndrome, in some cases there is an increased risk of prostate cancer in men, and pancreatic cancer in both men and women. If females have uterine or colon cancer, the cause may be Lynch syndrome, which increases the risk of colon cancer in women and men. In addition, both male and female relatives can be pregnant.

Three things may indicate hereditary cancer:

• Several close relatives had the same type of cancer.

• A person or some relatives were diagnosed at a younger age than usual with cancer.

• There are different cancers linked to each other in the same sex, such as breast cancer, ovarian cancer or colon and uterine cancer.

If you have a hereditary cancer risk, you can get help with preventive measures that mean you and your relatives don’t have to be affected. These can be tests, frequent control programs, or in some cases preventive measures such as surgery.

If you suspect that you have hereditary cancer in the family, contact the oncology clinic located at hospitals in Stockholm, Umeå, Lund, Uppsala, Gothenburg, Jönköping and Linköping.

We want genetic testing to be available to everyone – as soon as you suspect hereditary cancer. Unfortunately, access to testing is not equal because some regions have very long wait times for predictive testing.

It is important to identify carriers of genetic predispositions. It should actively inspect healthcare to find carriers and provide information about preventive measures. The ability to identify family members who carry these gene mutations makes it possible to prevent disease and save lives. Supportive structures are also important to help patients pass information when there is an increased genetic risk within a family.

With modern technology, regarding in vitro fertilization, one can choose to return only embryos that do not carry the genetic mutation. This can be an important technique for families who want to have children but are concerned about moving facilities.

We want to invest more in ongoing research on the diagnosis, prevention, and treatment of individuals with inherited cancer systems. By making genetic testing available to more people, actively searching for preparations and working with preventive measures, not the least of which is promoting research on new approaches, we can stop genetic cancers and save lives!

Barbro SchulanderPresident of the Women’s Cancer Network