Outlook for the role of genetics in cancer

Living with uncertainty

We are only just beginning to understand the role of genetics in cancer. However, the way the media reports genetic findings can create the impression that genes will give us the answer to everything. This is far from true. Genetic knowledge doesn't necessarily reduce uncertainty. Identifying genes doesn't give us all the answers. Genetic testing doesn't tell us who will definitely get cancer and who won't. This situation can be unsatisfactory, and it can also make you feel anxious.

Cancer is a serious disease that we are all scared of, but it is important to remember that:

• most people will not get cancer
• treatments for cancer are getting better all the time, and new ones are being developed all the time
• more and more people live longer and longer after their diagnosis
• most people who get cancer are over 65.
• most cancers are not caused by inherited cancer genes.

Usually we don't know what causes cancer. This fact can be hard to accept if you are trying to cope with the effects of cancer on your family or on your own life.

Reducing your risk

Apart from genes, we know of some other factors that increase the risk of developing cancer. Smoking is the biggest risk factor, increasing the risk of lung cancer and also of many other cancers and illnesses. If you smoke, stopping is the healthiest decision you can make.

Other ways to reduce your risk of cancer significantly include:

• Eating a healthy diet (one that is low in fat and includes plenty of fruit and vegetables)
• taking regular exercise
• watching your weight.

Doing these things will also make you more healthy in other ways.

It is important to keep genetics in perspective. Medical progress, including our growing genetic knowledge, is there to improve our lives, not to make us more worried and anxious. Finding out that you or your relatives could have an increased risk of getting a particular cancer might be a big shock at first. But many people say that they learn to adapt to this knowledge and are then able to get on with their lives.