Carrie Bilicki

To maintain good posture after breast surgery:

• Stand/sit upright -- don't slouch!
• Keep your head aligned with your shoulders.
• Keep your shoulders back and relaxed.
• Keep your arms relaxed at your side.
• When standing or sitting, position your affected arm naturally at your side. Do not hold

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All women are at risk for breast cancer, reinforcing the need for breast self exams and routine breast screening as it is the most common cancer in women.  The main risk factor for developing breast cancer is age with four out of five breast cancers found in women over the age of 50.  Full Post

If you have a family history of breast cancer, you should share this information with your physician. By taking into consideration your personal and family medical histories, you may benefit from meeting with a genetic counselor for a hereditary cancer risk assessment.

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The risk for developing pancreatic cancer triples if a person's mother, father, sister, or brother had the disease. The risk of pancreatic cancer is also increased for patients with a familial cancer syndrome, which may include a family history of ovarian cancer, colon cancer, melanoma, or breast

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Recommendations for screening depend on several factors, how many family members, degree of relation, age of diagnosis, the presence of additional cancers or multiple polyps, personal history of polyps or inflammatory bowel disease, and if any previous genetic testing had been performed in the family.

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Colorectal cancer is the third leading cause of cancer in both men and women. By age 70, the risk of colorectal cancer is 3-5% in the general population. The risk of cancer increases when there is a family history of colon cancer present. Having one first-degree relative (parent, sibling, or child)

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Genetic counseling for cancer risk assessment involves a review of the pattern and ages a diagnosis of cancer in the family and a discussion whether or not this is suggestive of an inherited predisposition to cancer. If an individual is found to carry a gene mutation, their medical management may

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By taking into consideration personal and family medical histories, a physician can identify patients at elevated risk and further discuss medical management options. These options can include increased surveillance and other risk reduction strategies. These options should be discussed with appropriate

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Family tree from both sides of your family should include your children, parents, siblings, grandparents, aunts, uncles, first cousins, nieces, and nephews. Include conditions each relative has/had and age of first diagnosis. For relatives who are deceased, include the cause of death and the age

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Traditionally, genetics has been a field of rare diseases caused by single gene mutations that affect few individuals. Since the completion of the human genome project, medicine has begun to rapidly gain knowledge into how our genes contribute to complex common diseases such as heart disease, strokes,

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While a spouse does not share hereditary risk factors, you do share similar environmental risk factors. Many health conditions are considered multifactorial where there is both a hereditary AND an environmental component. By identifying potential environmental risk factors, your physician can suggest

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Any of the following on mother's OR father's side of the family should raise a concern about your family history of breast cancer: early ages of diagnosis (under age of 50), more than one family member on the same side of the family with breast cancer, individuals with bilateral cancers or more than

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Kidney disease can be the result from a variety of medical conditions including diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and hypertension all of which have a familial component. For patients with a risk factor of kidney disease, urine test for albumin and a creatine blood test may be appropriate.

In addition,

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It is best to obtain a three generation family history from both sides of your family. This should include your children, parents, siblings, grandparents, aunts, uncles, first cousins, nieces, and nephews. Include conditions each relative has/had and age of first diagnosis. For relatives who are

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In 2004, the Surgeon General declared Thanksgiving to be National Family History Day. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has created a web-based tool to help people to obtain and organize their family history information. This free tool can be found at  https://familyhistory.hhs.gov/.

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