Genetic test determines risk of colon cancer.

NBC
Published: November 6, 2008

You’ve probably heard about genes that can cause breast cancer and about the genetic tests that can spot them.

Well, now doctors are using similar tests to find people at high risk of developing colon cancer.

It’s the best way to avoid a disease that can devastate families which are susceptible to it.
When Margurette Flores got colon cancer, it changed her children’s future.

“My little child told me mom, mom, and he push me this side and I feel like pain,“ said Flores.

Like one in 20 colon cancer patients, Margurette inherited the disease.

“My mom died from there, and one uncle and three aunts,“ said Flores.

And if her children have the same genetic mutation, they’re at risk for colon cancer as well.

“I don’t want this for my kids,“ Flores.

“Inheriting these mutating genes give you a chance of developing cancer that go between 70 and 100 percent depending on the kind of gene,“ said gastroenterologist Dr. Xavier Llor.

But doctors like Xavier Llor can help the Flores children, by searching for the same mutations in their genes.

“That way we can screen the rest of the family and figure out who we’re going to be following very closely,“ said Llor.
They’ll be tested frequently.

Because if caught early, the disease is at its most curable.

As for Margurette, there’s a happy ending right now: she is cancer free after surgery.

“I’m doing everything the doctor told me to get better for my kids and for my husband too. They need me,“ said Flores.