Home for the Holidays – A Great Time to Learn about your Family Health History

The holidays are a time where family gets together to celebrate, eat good food and make new memories. The holidays are also a great time to talk with your family about health history. Talking about your family’s health history does not have to dampen the holiday mood, though. It can be a great way to learn about any health concerns that run in the family so you can better prepare yourself when talking with your doctor.

Family health history is of great value to all people. Learning about what health conditions may impact you can help you make a plan for how to address those concerns. For example, a family history of breast cancer is linked with a higher risk of prostate cancer. Some of the genetic mutations that raise the risk of breast cancer result in a greater risk of prostate cancer in men. So if you learn that someone in your family has breast cancer, you may want to talk with your doctor about your own risk for cancer.

This year, take a few minutes to talk with your family about the value of learning more about your health history. The more you learn about how things may affect your own health, the more you can tackle them early on and continue to enjoy those holiday moments.

To learn more, check out these free resources available to download.