Family History - You're Invited to The Conference

On August 24-26, 2009, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) will be holding a State-of-the-Science conference on how family history can be used to improve health and health care in the United States. The conference is being held at the NIH Natcher Conference Center in Bethesda, Maryland. And if Maryland isn't on your summer vacation agenda, you don't need to worry: You can participate in the conference online.

What does this have to do with me?

The NIH organized this meeting specifically to help a wide range of people, from health care providers and researchers to interested citizens, better understand and utilize family health history to manage risk of a variety of diseases, including cancer. Many cases of cancer, including colon cancer, are considered sporadic, meaning they are not related to genetics or family history. However, up to 25% of colon cancer cases occur in people with a family history of the disease or who have a known "cancer gene".

In these situations, the lack of a standardized way for health care providers to collect, and for patients to provide, a family health history, can contribute to people being diagnosed later, when disease is more advanced and harder to treat. This is where the NIH State-of-the-Science conference steps in, to fill in the gaps and to improve health care delivery. If you have a family history of colon cancer, or any other disease, or even if you're just interested in this topic, be sure to take advantage of this free, open-to-the-public conference, either in person, or through the internet.