May is Brain Cancer, Bladder Cancer, Melanoma & Skin Cancer Month

Each month brings awareness to specific cancer diagnoses that patients may receive within their lifetime. At Hope Abounds Cancer Network, we believe that knowledge is power. It is our goal to educate and empower each of you to better understand cancer risks and also ways to prevent a late-stage diagnosis.

So, what is the correlation with many of the cancers listed above?

Lynch Syndrome is a hereditary cancer syndrome that has 10 cancers within the syndrome:

• Colorectal (Colon)

• Endometrial

• Gastric

• Ovarian

• Pancreatic

• Ureter & Renal Pelvis

• Biliary Tract

• Brain

• Small intestine

• Sebaceous Adenomas

• Skin Cancers

To put this in perspective, many of you know about Hereditary Breast and Ovarian Cancers (HBOC) or BRCA mutations, as multiple famous people have come out sharing their stories - including Angelina Jolie, Christina Applegate, Wanda Sykes, and Shannon Doherty - to name a few. HBOC only has 4 known cancers within the syndrome:

• Breast

• Ovarian

• Pancreatic

• Prostate

Lynch Syndrome is just as prevalent as HBOC, but people rarely talk about or focus on it. Understanding 3 generations of family history and all of the cancers on both your mother's and father’s sides of the family is essential to communicate with your healthcare provider.

Find a family history tool here to complete and take to your healthcare provider today: https://hopeabounds.org/family-history-questionnaire. A short video can also help you understand the importance of understanding your risks and why hereditary cancer genetic testing is important.