Your HEALTH Questionnaire
 
Find out about your family's medical history - it could save your life.
Many diseases and conditions are now known to be inherited, so asking your parents - or even grandparents - about their illnesses is a good place to start in preventing sickness. The following questionnaire will help you discover whether you are vulnerable to a particular disease or condition. Check the Yes box if it applies, then read the advice on what needs be done. I hope you haven't got to check too many of the boxes.
 
Question Why Ask It? Check
if
Yes! 		If YES, What?
1. Has my mother had breast or ovarian cancer? (Men should also answer this question.)
Up to one in ten breast cancers are thought to have a genetic link which increases risk. If you have one of two cancer-causing genes, the chances of developing the disease can be 80 - 90 per cent. Ovarian cancer has also been linked to genes associated with breast cancer.
Ask your GP. Testing for the faulty gene and extra screening can be offered to women with a strong family history.
2. Has anyone in my family had bowel disease?
Between 5 and 10 per cent of the 30,000 new cases of bowel cancer anually are thought to be inherited. Family history of the disease increases the risk fourfold. Be alert if you have a close relative withy the disease under the age of 45.
Tell your GP - a screening test is available. If doctors detect growths called polyps, they can remove them before they turn into cancer. Watch out for persistent general stomach discomfort or unexplained weight loss, constipation, diarrhoea, or blood in the bowel movement.
3. Has anyone in the family had heart disease?
If your mother had a heart attack before the age of 65, or your father before 55, then you have a family history of heart disease, says the British Heart Foundation. Hi blood pressure and blood cholesterol levels can be inheritedand can increase the likelihood of heart problems.
Those with a family history should have blood pressure and blood cholesterol levels checked regularly. You can lower your risk of heart disease by switching to a low-fat diet with plenty of fruit and vegetables, and exercising at least three times a week for 20 minutes or more.
4. Did anyone in the family shrink with old age?
If your mother shrunk or developed a "dowager's hump", you have a strong chance of developing osteoporosis - fragile bones. One in three women and one in 12 men get the disease. If your mother or grandmother had a hip fracture, that risk rises says the Osteoporosis Society. That must be prior to your birth in your mums case, surely? Axiompc.
A calcium-rich diet and regular weight-bearing exercise - such as running or tennis - will help build stronger bones and may prevent the disease altogether. Women can have a bone density scan and should ask about hormone replacement therapy when they reach the menopause.
5. Was I or my brothers/sisters big at birth?
Being a big baby is a risk factor for diabetes later in life. If one of your parents had the most common type of diabetes, Type 2 (non-insulin dependent) you are at greater risk of getting it. A third of people with Type 2 had a diabetic mother and 17 per cent had a father with the condition.
Let your GP know you have a family history of diabetes. Half of Type 2 diabetes have complications by the time they are diagnosed. Symptoms can be easily missed, or put down to hard work or "getting older".
6. Have any family members had painful or irregular periods?
Painful periods might be a sign of fibroids, growths projecting onto the womb cavity, or endometriosis - where fragments of the womb lining attach themselves to the bowel, bladder and ovaries. A woman with a family member with endometriosis is seven times more likely to get it too.
Ask your GA. Both fibroids and endometriosis need to be treated before major damage occurs. Diagnosis can be difficult. Surgery is often needed.
7. Has anyone in our family ever developed the eye condition glaucoma?
Glaucoma causes one in eight cases of blindness in the UK. Normally, your risk is one in 200, but if your brother or sister has glaucoma, you have a 10 per cent chance of developing it. A mum or dad with the eye disease, and your risk is 4 per cent. The risk increases as you get older.
Have your eyes tested every year. The good news is that special eye drops, used for the rest of your life, will prevent the condition altogether - provided it is spotted early.
8. Have any of our relatives had thyroid problems?
The thyroid gland regulates your body's energy levels. If a close relative has either an underactive or overactive thyroid, your chances of being affected arew more than doubled. The peak age for problems to appear is 40 to 50.
Ask you GP to arrange screening with a simple blood test. Problems can be corrected through drug treatment.
9. Does anyone in the family get bad headaches?
Migraines affect one in four women and one in 12 men - and it is almost certain they run in families.
Ask your GP for advice. If a family member has specific foods which trigger their migraines, you may also have to consider your diet. But don't just cut out foods as a lack of food may trigger attacks. Keep a food diary and look at what you ate in the 48 hours before your attack.
10. Have any of our relatives suffered from aching joints?
Rheumatoid arthritis - which causes pain, swelling and stiffness in joints - involves genetics and environmental factors. Twice as many women are affected as men. The other main type, osteoarthritis - where joints are eroded by wear and tear - has a strong genetic influence.
If a relative has rheumatoid arthritis, tell your GP. If you suffer joint pain, change your diet (avoid red meat) and exercise safely. Drug treatment needs to be started early, although it often takes many years to be correctly diagnosed.
 
NOTE: You are not transmitting anything when you use the check boxes. They are purely for your own reference and no-one is prying. Axiompc

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