[valgrebezsParticipant]

Hi from val, do we need to get our adult children checked? My husband has an adult boy and an adult girl.  I have an adult girl? any answers please. Val xx

[jeff605Participant]

Hi Val, although Myeloma , according to my consultant, isn’t hereditory, my middle daughter has been found to be MGUS. So my advice would be to get them checked.After all it’s not an arduous test, just blood test, and if the worst happens, early diagnosis is best. Best wishes, Jeff

[valgrebezsParticipant]

Thank you Jeff, will

pass this on to my husband. xx

[rosie1961Participant]

Hi Val, my dad has MM and I have recently been diagnosed MGUS (I’m 54). I’m not too worried, I just see it as a potential early warning system.

[CarolsymonsParticipant]

And they keep telling us there is no genetic link? My dad had leukaemia so I cannot discount a genetic link. I Can’t convince my adult children to be tested though. The four of them seem to have their heads in the sand regarding my cancer!

Carol

[ellenModerator]

 

Good afternoon everyone. I hope you don’t mind me stepping in to clarify this a little if I can.

You are correct that myeloma is not considered to be a hereditary condition. We know that myeloma is not like some other cancers, for example some types of breast cancer, where a single inherited gene greatly increases the risk of developing it. Rather, it is thought that certain sets of inherited genes may make people slightly more susceptible to developing myeloma but additional factors are needed to have an impact before the cancer develops. Unfortunately, at present we don’t know with certainty what these sets of genes or additional factors are.

We do know that family members of myeloma patients have double the risk of developing myeloma themselves, compared to people with no family connection. A doubling of the risk might sound alarming but it just means that instead of a 4 in 100,000 risk of having myeloma (within the general population), a family member will have an 8 in 100,000 risk. The risk in real numbers is therefore still very small.

Myeloma UK has an Infosheet which may clarify things further, please have a look at it on our website: http://www.myeloma.org.uk/information/myeloma-uk-publications-list/newly-diagnosed/inherited-myeloma-infosheet/

I hope this has been of some help, but if you have any further questions, or would like to talk things through, please feel free to call the Myeloma Infoline on 0800 980 3332 – I or one of my colleagues can clarify things for you further. Alternatively you can email directly to askthenurse@myeloma.org.uk

With best wishes

Ellen

[Author]

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