Health & Fitness
Is a Hidden Cancer Risk in Your DNA?
Hereditary conditions can mean a 100% cancer rate. A surgeon explains the genetic risks and the simple screenings that can save your life.

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Your genetic blueprint dictates more than just your eye color; it could hold critical secrets about your risk for diseases like colorectal cancer. With cases alarmingly on the rise among young adults, understanding your personal risk has never been more important.
"With colorectal cancer on the rise among young people, early detection is the best protection," warns Gregory Charak, M.D., a colorectal surgeon affiliated with Palisades Medical Center and Hackensack University Medical Center. He sheds light on hereditary conditions that can dramatically increase your cancer risk.
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One of the most common genetic culprits is Lynch syndrome, which can elevate your lifetime risk of colorectal cancer to as high as 80%. Even more severe is a rarer condition known as FAP (familial adenomatous polyposis), which Dr. Charak notes comes with a staggering "100% rate of colon cancer."
Do you have a family history of colon or uterine cancer? Have any relatives been diagnosed under the age of 50? Answering "yes" to these questions could mean you need to act sooner rather than later. Discover the simple screening methods and at-home tests that could provide life-saving answers.
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