Genetic Testing - An Effective Test for Diagnosing Colon Cancers

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Hereditary nonpolyposis colorectal cancer (HNPCC) and family adenomatous polyposis (FAP) are among the most common hereditary colon cancer syndromes. Doctors diagnose these two ailments on the basis of the results of the patient's physical exams and family medical history. Although doctors do not entirely depend upon genetic testing for initial diagnosis. However, under certain circumstances this is considered as an ideal method of diagnosing the above two ailments.

What are the circumstances when genetic test is considered Essential?

genetic test for colon cancer is considered appropriate if you have a family medical history that strongly indicates familial or hereditary colon cancer. Through test, doctors will know which family members have inherited a mutated gene. This will let him know the level of risk of the cancer. This diagnostic result is very essential, since it will affect your screening and prevention options, and indicate whether your children or siblings are also at risk or not.

Which individuals need to get genetic testing?

If an individual's family medical history shows that he or she is at a high risk for hereditary colon cancer, it is essential to go to a genetic counselor for a particular colon cancer-related mutation. If you are a healthy person having a strong family history of cancer, you may be astonished to find that your doctor will not perform a dna test on you. Instead, he will suggest you to bring those family members (who are having cancers) for genetic test. Such persons are often referred to as affected family members.

If a genetic testing done on an affected family member shows a positive result for a particular mutation, other members in the family needs immediate testing for the same mutation. In case if there is no mutation found in an affected family member after testing, there is no risk of having colon cancers for others belonging to the same family.

How is genetic test performed?

The process of this test is very simple. It involves a small amount of blood which is collected from the individual's arm for analysis. This is a kind of DNA test which is performed in a lab by examining the DNA from the white blood cells. It takes some weeks or sometimes even months to complete this test.

Look for a popular medical center that offers genetic counseling at cost effective rates online. After selecting a center, fix an appointment with the doctor at the earliest.
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