Did you know?

10% of cancers are due to strong hereditary factors.

Cancer risk can be inherited from either side of a family.
Within most high-risk families, half of the individuals are not at high risk.
Genetic testing may determine who is and who is not at risk within a family.
Signs of hereditary cancer include: earlier age onset of cancer, individuals with multiple cancers, and a family pattern of multiple individuals with cancer in multiple generations.

70% of cancers are sporadic and are not due to inherited factors.

Increasing age is the biggest risk factor for sporadic cancer.
Most cancers occurring after age 60 are not linked with an increased cancer risk for other family members.

20% of cancers show a clustering within the family.

Family clustering may be due to genetic and/or environmental factors that family members share.

Genetic testing, when appropriate, is often covered by insurance.
Genetic testing, ideally, starts with testing an individual who has had cancer.
DNA banking is a low-cost option where a blood sample is drawn to set aside genetic material for the option of future genetic testing.