MAY 2019| The Australian Women’s Weekly 137
Health
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UAEHTTSAR
LIANWOMEN’S
W
EE
LK- Y
HEALTH
EXPERTO
n Sunday, May 12 we
celebrateMother’sDay.
It’sa daytoponder
thesignificanceofthe
relationshipwithyour
mum,tobegratefulforthepositive
contributionshemadetoyourlife,
toforgivepastwrongs,topauseto
rememberyourmotherif sheis no
longeralive,ortocelebratethe
maternalfiguresinyourlife.
Butthisyear,whynotalsousethe
dayasanopportunitytoaskyour
mothersomelong-overduequestions
aboutherhealth?Somefamiliesjust
don’ttalkaboutmatterstheyconsider
‘personal’,in certainculturesit is not
considered‘thedonething’todiscuss
illness.If youareadopted,youmay
havenowayoffindingoutabout
yourgeneticmedicalhistory.However,
if youdohavetheopportunityto
talktoyourmotheraboutherhealth,
youcandiscoverinformationwhich
willhelpyoutomanageyourown,
aswellaspossiblypreventdisease
in future.
Thesedays,yourdoctorwill
oftenaskaboutyourfamilyhealth
history. Thereasonis thatasour
understandingoftheroleofgenetics
in healthexpands,detailed
informationaboutyourparents’
healthis usefulif we’retodoour
besttomodifyriskfactorsfordiseases
which have a known genetic link.Thiswaywecanpayspecialattention
toareaswhereyoumighthavea
higherrisk.It’sinterestingtomethat
somepatientshavea lotofdetailed
information,whileothershavelittle
ornoknowledge.
Sohowdoyouknowwhereto
startorwhattoask?Firstly,choose
a timewhenyoucanberelaxedand
unhurried,somewhereyoucanhave
a confidentialdiscussionwithout
beinginterrupted.
Startbyaskingaboutwhether
shehaseverbeenadmittedto
hospital.Whenyourdoctorasksthis,
it is a reminderofsignificantillness
thatwasseriousenoughtoneed
in-patientcare.Thenyoucanask
aboutspecifichealthconditionsthat
canhaveaninheritedcomponentso
thatyoucantalktoyourdoctor
aboutplanningyourownpreventive
healthchecks.Hereare the 10 top
subjectstotackle.1.Ovariancancer
Themostsignificantriskfactor
forovariancanceris aninherited
geneticmutationin oneoftwogenes:
BRCA1orBRCA2.Aboutonein five
womendiagnosedwithovariancancer
havea hereditary tendency to develop
thedisease.2.Breastcancer
If yourmotherhadbreastcancer,
youcanhavegenetictesting.If you
inheritedtheBRCA1orBRCA2
mutationfromyourmother,thereis
a verystrongchancethatyouwillgo
ontodevelopbreastcancer, too.3.Bowelcancer
Bowelpolypconditionscanbe
inherited,soif yourmotherhad
bowelcancer,yourdoctorwill
arrangescreeningforyou.4.Eyehealth
Themostcommontypeofglaucoma,
primaryopen-angleglaucoma,is
hereditaryandit cancauseblindness.
If youhavea closerelativewith
glaucoma,youwillneed to have
regular eye tests.5.Hearthealth
Haveyouoranyofyourrelatives
hada heartproblem?Someheart
conditionssuchascoronaryartery
diseaseandsomeabnormalheart
rhythmscanhaveaninheritedrisk.
Askif anyonein thefamilydied
suddenlyorunexpectedly,orsuffered
a strokeora heartattack.Doeitherof
yourparentstakemedicationforhigh
bloodpressure?Havetheybeen told
theyhavehighcholesterol?6.Menopauseand
perimenopause
Geneticfactorsplaya rolein
thetimingofmenopausesoask
yourmumwhenandhow her
symptomsstarted.7.Pregnancyorbirth
complications
Yes,somecomplicationscanalsobe
inherited.Theseincludehyperemesis
gravidarum(excessivevomiting) and
gestationaldiabetes.8.Geneticconditions
Askyourmotherif therehavebeen
anybabieswithcongenitalproblems
in thefamilybeforeyouplana
pregnancysoyoucan ask for advice
aboutyourrisk.9.Migraines
Thesemaybepasseddownfrom
motherstodaughters.If oneorboth
ofyourparentshaveit,thereis a 50 to
75 percentchanceyouwilltoo.10.Mentalhealth
Depression,anxietyandaddiction
usuallyhavesomeinherited and
environmentalcauses.Butdon’tjuststopat questionsthat
directlyconcernyou.Thisis alsoa
goodtimetoaskyourmotherabout
herownpreventivehealthchecks
tomakesureshe’sdoingallshecan
tostaywellasshegetsolder.And
remember,yourgeneticsdon’thaveto
beyourdestiny,butawarenessofyour
potentialforinheritedillnessesmeans
you can take preventive action.AWW