Discussing family medical history around the holidays

BOWLING GREEN, Ky. – In this day and age of modern medicine, there are many preventative measures you can take, but arguably the best action to take is just asking around.

News 40 spoke to Michael Gosky today, a Senior Oncology Genetic Counselor at the University of Kentucky who said he wishes there was a blanket answer, but unfortunately it’s specific to the family. Gosky said he doesn’t think there is enough discussion going around about medical history and maybe the holidays are a good time to do that. With everyone gathering around for the holidays, Gosky said it might be worth asking some general questions, especially if you have your own concerns.

The counselor told the station in his own life, years ago, his primary care provider had said his blood pressure was a little higher than the average for someone his age. This prompted him to speak to his parents about the issue, and when reviewing the situation, Gosky said “Funny enough, just two weeks later, my uncle had a heart attack. I don’t want to be in that situation 30 or 40 years from now…”

Gosky hopes this season, more people ask the maybe more difficult questions to better protect their health and possibly their children as well. The oncologist said he sees day in and day out a lack of conversation within family units. Referencing a previous consultation, Gosky said “one patient said ‘I didn’t even know breast cancer ran in her family until her sister got diagnosed, then we started talking about it.'”