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ot colon cancer in extended family, genetic link or coincidence?

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Ulcerative Colitis
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Posted 10/8/2008 3:08 PM (GMT 0)
Hi,

Last year my cousin died of colon cancer after battling it for several years.  Yesterday, I found out another cousin is dying from colon cancer. His cancer has spread and is too advanced for treatment and he is not expected to live much longer.   Each cousin was the offspring of two of my father's sisters so they are not siblings but were first cousins to each other. 

I wonder if anyone knows whether or not a genetic link for something like colon cancer can show up in cousins if no one in the previous generation had it.  

Like a lot of others with uc, I am sensitive to the risk, however small, of ending up with colon cancer.

Thanks

Posted 10/8/2008 8:03 PM (GMT 0)
Well, logically, for genetics to be a factor, a common ancestor would have had to have carried the "bad" gene - ie bad gene would have had to have come from your father's parents (or via them from an earlier generation). Did their parents have colon cancer? If not, I'd say that it's just chance the two "cousins" have had the same problem.

My nan, sadly, died from colon cancer, but she wasn't diagnosed very early (plus it was twenty some years ago, and treatements are improving all the time), so my worry is mainly an early diagnosis. I'm actually quite lucky, then, to have UC as the chances of me being diagnosed early enough to try treatments is a heck of a lot better than Jo ordinary's - A. I now pay a lot of attention to my guts and what comes out of them (you could say I'm anal, ha ha). B I'll be going for regular blood tests for a while yet. C. I'll be having regular c-scopes. D. I'm already seeing a gastroenterologist (ok, not a cancer specialist, but he'll still know a lot more about what to watch out for than my normal doc).
Posted 10/8/2008 8:50 PM (GMT 0)
Colon cancer is a very slow growing cancer. It takes about 10 years before it becomes terminal, as I recall. The people that die of colon cancer are usually those who have ignored symptoms for years. As I understand, no one has to die of colon cancer these days if they report their symtpoms early on.

Sue
Posted 10/8/2008 9:37 PM (GMT 0)

Thanks Cricketlover, I needed to hear that.  I kind of knew it anyway, but wanted reassurance if I could get it.   You are right, with all the colonoscopies and biopsies we endure, we with ibd would likely find out very early if there was a problem. Good luck on your doctors appt tomorrow.  Hope you learn a lot.

Suebear, isn't it a shame?!  I didn't realize colon cancer was slow growing.  We come from a very long line of Northeastern protestants, which means that some thing as normal and natural as our own bodily functions are considered taboo subjects.  It makes me sad.

On the other hand, I was talking with my sister (who has a very low paying job) about her scheduling her first colonscopy and she said that her insurance doesn't pay for it unless she reaches her deductible which is over one thousand dollars.  That may be the real reason so many people put off the procedure.  *sigh*

Thanks

Posted 10/8/2008 9:40 PM (GMT 0)
There is a hereditary component to colon cancer. My mother died from colon cancer. No one else in the family has had it, but remember, years ago diagnoses weren't as accurate, nor were causes of death listed. For instance, if my mother had died a hundred years earlier, her death might have been listed as something like "jaundice" or even "alcoholic consumption." She had liver metastases; back then they didn't know much about cancer or metastasis and would have assumed the liver was the culprit.

Also remember that lifestyle plays a role. Diets high in fat, low in fiber, etc. are associated with higher rates of colon cancer. Dietary habits may be similar among family members, thus making them more likely to develop the same conditions.

Posted 10/8/2008 9:53 PM (GMT 0)
-Judy, I was wondering a bit about that too. My grandparents died in the sixties. My grandmother was said to have died of lung cancer, but it is possible it could have started in her colon. My gparents were born in the 1890's and I don't think my great grandparents lived past the 1920's - so who knows what were the circumstances, in modern terms of their deaths.

Sorry about your mom. Cancer is an awful disease.
Posted 10/8/2008 10:40 PM (GMT 0)
I figure I'm somewhat more likely than average to get colon cancer, but I'm much less likely to die of it. With a colonoscopy every two years, my colon will get ripped out of there before it has time to fully develop, if they ever see anything.
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