The Family Tree Could Save Your Life

Knowing your family medical history can be live-saving. One middle Georgia family realized the importance first hand, when genetic testing revealed a rare syndrome passed down the family line.

“My youngest daughter who was 21 at the time had polyps. They found about 3 polyps. One was about 10 times larger than anything that my twenty three year old daughter had. Eventually she had to have her colon removed as well, but she had no symptoms at all,” said Katrina Martin from Macon.

Martin remembers the shock of finding out her 23-year-old daughter Laura was having severe colon and rectal problems. Laura’s symptoms may have saved her sister’s life because Rebecca was symptom free at the time her screening showed polyps growing inside of her.

“The girls were in their twenties and so there really isn’t a screening for someone in their twenties unless you have a family history or unless you’re having problems and at the time we had no idea we had a family history of this disorder,” said Martin.

Colorectal surgeon, Doug Brewer, says the whether your a physician or patient, family history and genetics information are more important than ever in the medical field.