Is Cancer hereditary ??

Question

Many years ago my father died of colon cancer,
Last year I lost my mother to lung cancer and this year I have just recently lost my brother to lung cancer .
I do not smoke ( never have ) but I grew up in smokey apts.
Can colon and lung cancers be hereditary ?

Answer 1

A hereditary disease is a disease caused by an abnormality in an individual's DNA which is inherited genetically. Although cancer is not caused by single gene inheritance like cystic fibrosis or sickle cell anemia, some types of cancer do exhibit multifactorial inheritance, which is a type of inheritance that is caused by a combination of environmental factors and mutations in multiple genes. Therefore, YES, certain types of cancer are hereditary.-

Current scientific opinion is that cancer is a disease caused by mutations in DNA or changes in the way certain genes are expressed, so by its very nature, cancer can be hereditary. However, you must also understand that these mutations can be in either somatic cells (cells in your body pretty much everywhere except your reproductive organs) or they can be in both somatic and germ cells (cells which make eggs and sperm). Should the genetic abnormality which is contributing to cancer development be in germ cells, this abnormality can be passed from parent to child upon conception and is considered hereditary. Realize that everyone has some chance of developing cancer and that most cancers occur sporadically or by chance in only somatic cells. However, because hereditary cancer exhibits multifactorial inheritance, a person who has inherited such a gene mutation as described above, will not necessarily develop cancer but will have an increased risk to develop cancer in their lifetime.

There is a diverse array of the hereditary components which increase your risk to developing cancers, but types of cancer with a strong hereditary component (called familial cancers), include breast and ovarian cancers caused by inherited mutations in the BRCA1 or BRCA2 genes, or colon cancer caused by familial adenomatous polyposis, which is an inherited mutation in the APC gene. Inheritance of mutations in the APC gene will lead to the development of colon cancer in more than 90% of patients by the time they are 40 and is the classic example of a hereditary cancer.-

Answer 2

The propensity for cancer is subject to hereditary to a certain point.

You can have specific genetics which predispose you to a disease and can engage in preventive interventions which will prevent it.

Other times this predisposition is such that eventually acquiring a specific disease is inevitable.

If you are fearful for developing carcinoma I would suggest frequently eating cruciferous vegetables (cauliflower, broccoli, and so forth) and highly pigmented vegetables (beets, carrots, etc.) which have proven efficacy for the prevention of cancers.

Answer 3

Yes, it is. since your both parents were died with cancer, you have a big chance of acquiring it . The best intervention to this, is for you to have an annual general check up especially diagnostic test for cancer. Avoid foods that are carcinogenic like processed and preserved foods,and cigarette smoking too.And most of all, DO PRAY ALWAYS.

Answer 4

Cancer has been proven to be hereditary in some varieties (some sub-types of Breast CA for example). you must realize that within each type of cancer there are different varieties. I DO beleive that environmental factors have a LOT to do with contracting this disease).