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WHAT IF MY FAMILY HAS FAP OR LYNCH SYNDROME?
If someone in your family has been diagnosed with Lynch Syndrome it is
important to discuss the following screening options with your physician, as
each individual is different. The American Society of Clinical Oncology
recommends these general screening guidelines:
- Colonoscopy every one to two years, beginning between the ages of 20 to
25 (or five years younger than the earliest age at diagnosis in the family,
whichever is sooner)
- Periodic upper endoscopy screening (this procedure uses a thin, flexible
tube with a light inserted into the body to examine a specific region) for
stomach or intestinal cancer, especially if a family member has had one of
these cancers
- Yearly urine cytology to screen for urinary tract cancer
Screening for women
- Yearly pelvic examination
- Pap test
- Transvaginal ultrasound (a test where a small ultrasound probe is
inserted for a pelvic examination in order to obtain better imaging of the
uterus)
Endometrial biopsy (an examination on a sample of tissue from the
inner lining of the uterus done as a part of a pelvic examination)
- CA-125 blood test (a test to detect a protein found to be elevated in
the blood of some women with ovarian cancer) beginning between the ages of
25 to 30
Screening options may change over time as new technologies are developed
and more is learned about Lynch Syndrome.
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