On the Mayo Clinic Radio podcast, Dr. John Kisiel, a gastroenterologist at Mayo Clinic, discusses screening, treatment and prevention of colorectal cancer. Also on the podcast, Dr. Matthew Ferber, a medical geneticist at Mayo Clinic, explains Mayo Clinic GeneGuide. GeneGuide is the new personal DNA product backed by Mayo medical science and expertise. And Mayo Clinic experts Dr. Susanne Cutshall, a nurse practitioner and integrative health specialist, and Debbie Fuehrer, a mind-body medicine counselor, offer ideas for dealing with holiday stress and the winter blues.

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On the next Mayo Clinic Radio program, Dr. John Kisiel, a gastroenterologist at Mayo Clinic, will discuss screening, treatment and prevention of colorectal cancer. Also on the program, Dr. Matthew Ferber, a medical geneticist at Mayo Clinic, will explain Mayo Clinic GeneGuide. GeneGuide is the new personal DNA product backed by Mayo medical science and expertise. And Mayo Clinic experts Dr. Susanne Cutshall, a nurse practitioner and integrative health specialist, and Debbie Fuehrer, a mind-body medicine counselor, will offer ideas for dealing with holiday stress and the winter blues.

Here's your Mayo Clinic Radio podcast.

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To start, it’s useful to know if anyone on either side of your family has had a major medical condition, at what age it was diagnosed, how it was diagnosed, by whom it was diagnosed, and how it was treated. Then consider expanding these questions out to additional family members. Drawing family trees can help you keep track of this information (trees can be compiled by using tools like the one found in Mayo Clinic GeneGuide™).

“Mayo Clinic GeneGuide combines genetic testing with a web-based educational application to help consumers understand information about their own genetic background,” says Matthew Ferber, Ph.D., a Mayo Clinic genomics researcher. “This helps individuals understand their results and learn the language of genetics so they can have informed discussions with their health care providers.”

Today, DNA sequencing and a detailed family history are often used together to help people understand their chances of developing or passing on a disease. For many people, keeping track of their family’s medical history is simply a precaution, and there are often no clues that raise concern. But for some, it can be life-changing. Research has shown that several types of cancer and heart disease could be detected and, in some cases, even prevented if those at risk are identified early.

Some warning signs of a potential disease causing gene within a family include:

• Onset of disease at an earlier age than population average
• Family history of the same disease multiple times in multiple relatives (e.g., multiple relatives diagnosed with an arrhythmia)
• Personal and/or family history suggestive of a syndrome (e.g., colon and uterine cancer in the same side of the family can indicate the family is at an increased odds to have Lynch syndrome)
• Personal and/or family history of a diagnosis of a rare disease

Although DNA sequencing is a powerful way to identify individuals at risk of developing a disease, collecting family history information is still an important practice. The Centers for Disease Control advises that people collect family history information whenever possible. What better time than Thanksgiving to begin the discussion.

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