The Salt Lake Tribune has an article that should be required reading for all genealogists. It describes how the study of your family's medical history may save your life or the lives of your loved ones.
The article by Lisa Rosetta describes the search conducted by Starr Hailey Campbell, a lady mentioned several times in past editions of this newsletter. As Starr mapped out her family health history, she began to realize the breast cancer she is battling today may have roots in her kin's DNA, stretching back at least three generations. Her father died of kidney cancer. Her grandfather died of stomach cancer. Her great-grandfather also died of cancer.
By sharing this past, Campbell hopes she can change her family's future.
Family health history, experts say, can play an important role in preventing diseases because many result from a combination of gene mutations, your environment, and your lifestyle.
You can read the entire article at http://www.sltrib.com/news/ci_4714288.
An equally compelling and similar story appears in the December 2006 issue of Your Family Tree magazine (the U.S. edition is distributed under the name of Your Family History). Simon Morgan discovered that early deaths were common in the four generations preceding him. Many had died of heart failure, including his father at 44. Diagnosed with dilated cardiomyopathy, Morgan received a heart transplant, and became the first person in his male line to reach the age of 50 since the birth of his 3rd great-grandfather in 1814.
Posted by: Kathy Nemaric | November 27, 2006 at 11:21 PM
Family history of health can be vital to your own wellbeing and that of your children. My father, grandmother, and her eight siblings and both great-grandparents had diabetes and most died in their late 50's to mid 60's. Due to this I am trying to watch my weight, exercise and eat healthier. I don't want to be another statistic and leave my children at young ages. A family researcher or not it is very important to know the health of past generations for yourself and the generations to come.
Cori Leigh Landry
New Brunswick, Canada
Posted by: Cori Leigh Landry | March 11, 2007 at 11:56 AM