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Questions & Answers
Can prostate cancer run in families?
Can Prostate Cancer run in families?
Yes, prostate cancer can run in families.
Knowing your family history of cancer can help you understand your risk for cancer.
Prostate cancer can be caused by different lifestyle factors but it can also be caused by genetic factors, like whether or not someone in your family has had cancer.
Cancer can be hereditary, meaning it can run in families and be passed down from parent to child through genes.
Genes are pieces of DNA that tell your body how to grow and develop. You get half from your mother and half from your father. Sometimes the instructions from genes that tell your body how to grow and develop can change, causing mutations that increase your risk for cancer. It is important to know about whether you or your family have gene mutations.
Knowing your family history of cancer can help you understand your risk for cancer.
Prostate cancer can be caused by different lifestyle factors but it can also be caused by genetic factors, like whether or not someone in your family has had cancer.
Cancer can be hereditary, meaning it can run in families and be passed down from parent to child through genes.
Genes are pieces of DNA that tell your body how to grow and develop. You get half from your mother and half from your father. Sometimes the instructions from genes that tell your body how to grow and develop can change, causing mutations that increase your risk for cancer. It is important to know about whether you or your family have gene mutations.
What to look out for…
- If any of your close relatives have had prostate, breast, ovarian, or pancreatic cancer
- If any of your close relatives have known gene mutations
What you can do...
- Talk to your doctor if you want to learn more about your hereditary risk for cancer. You can ask your doctor for a referral to a genetics clinic where a genetic counsellor can discuss testing options with you
- Genetic testing may be available to you and your relatives, and it can help you find out more about your lifetime risk for prostate and other cancers
- If you are found to have gene mutations, your doctor might recommend screening
Genetic testing is covered by some provincial health insurance plans
Genetic testing looks for mutations in genes that increase your risk for certain cancers.
Usually this only requires a simple blood or saliva sample.
Knowing if you have a hereditary genetic mutations can help you understand your risk for certain cancers so that you can make choices about cancer screening and prevention with your doctor.
Genetic testing won’t show everything, but it can help you better understand your risk.
Researchers are finding out more every day about the links between prostate and other cancers.