Families Information
Lynch Syndrome is a genetic disease that dramatically increases the risk of colon and uterine cancer. It may also increase the risk of ovarian, stomach, brain, intestine, kidney, biliary tract and skin cancers.
This disease is usually inherited from one of our parents and can be passed down to our children.
Knowing about Lynch Syndrome is important for the patient and family to prevent future cancers. Our efforts are focused on diagnosing these cancers at the earliest stage. This prevents death and disability from the cancers or its treatment.
These recommendations are based on a review of current published medical literature. You should discuss individual screening with your personal physician. A more detailed review of the screening process is available in the physician section on this website.
Inheriting Traits
We inherit one gene from each of our biological parents. Certain traits, like blue eyes, are called recessive, since they need two genes to occur. Other traits like brown eyes are called dominant, since they will be displayed with only one gene. Lynch Syndrome is a dominant gene. If a person has Lynch Syndrome, they have a 50% chance of passing it on to their children.