How can I cut my risk of cancer if it runs in the family?

It is true that having a family history of cancer raises your risk of developing the disease. But getting sick is not inevitable.

- Katie Mogg

In a recent study, researchers used 2019 data on cancer cases among American adults aged 30 and older, and they estimated that about 40 per cent of cases were caused by lifestyle factors you can change.

“That’s good news,” said Dr Farhad Islami, lead author of the study and senior scientific director of cancer disparity research at American Cancer Society. This means you may be able to lower your risk by making better decisions for your health, he said.

Here are a few steps you can take.

GATHER SPECIFICS ABOUT YOUR FAMILY HISTORY

People with a family history of cancer are more likely to inherit genetic changes that have been passed down from their parents, which increase their cancer risk.

This is particularly true if firstor second-degree relatives have had the disease, said Dr Amy Comander, medical director of Mass General Cancer Centre in Waltham, Massachusetts. So, gather information about your parents, siblings and children, as well as your grandparents, grandchildren, uncles, aunts, nieces, nephews and half-siblings.

At what age were they diagnosed? The younger they were - particularly if they were under 50 - the more likely their cases were caused by genetics, Dr Comander said.