Pic 8: Full screen text appears on a grey background. A watermark of three people silhouettes arranged to look like a family appears. The following text appears with red checkmarks to denote each bullet point.
Help your family make good decisions
Be Positive as you share small chunks of info.
Stop to see how they’re doing and express empathy.
Help them understand what they can do next and respect their decisions.
LINDA: Now you can ask a little more about family risk and genetic testing, or if you're ready, you can put this into practice!
The next topics will be presented one at a time as response options.
The learner chooses the response option: What about talking to children and teens?
LINDA: It's often best to have many small talks over time. Share a little at a time and give it time to sink in. If it's hard to find alone time for talks, you could use family time, like around the dinner table or on a drive together.
Pic 9: A full screen image of multiple silhouettes of kids appear with different dialogue bubbles above their heads (question marks, exclamation points, ellipses, thoughts).
LINDA: For some kids, knowing they have a higher risk could be a burden. Some might worry about you getting cancer, too. Be ready to address their concerns, and use your judgment about how much medical detail they’re ready for. You might want to wait on giving them all the details until they're old enough to start making some decisions about their health.
On the other hand, kids might surprise you with how ready they are, especially kids who've watched cancer happen in the family.
No matter when you decide to talk to them, it will help them a lot if you collect and write down info about your family’s health.
Pic 10: Screens of text appear on a grey background. A watermark of an info icon is in the background and the following text appears with red checkmarks to denote each bullet point.
Collect family health info
Any cancers or other conditions your family has had
Who had them
At what age they were diagnosed
Any genetic testing results you might have
All of this could be important information for your child if and when they start getting screened or tested.
LINDA: One last thing is there are some gene mutations that can increase children’s chances of getting cancer when they're still young. You can ask a doctor or genetic counselor which genes those are, and if they run in your family you can ask whether to have counseling and testing for your children.
The learner chooses the response option: How do I talk to adults I'm not that close to?
LINDA: Good question. It's important to tell all your blood relatives the gene mutation runs in your family and they might be more likely to get certain cancers.
Pic 11: Screens of text appear on a grey background. Learners can click through each screen at their own pace. In the first screen, a watermark featuring two speech bubble icons is in the background and the following text appears with red checkmarks to denote each bullet point.
Ways to tell your blood relatives
Talk to them yourself
Find someone else to talk to them
Have a group call
Send letters or emails
There are tips and sample emails in the Resources section.
Pic 12: The second screen has the following text:
Tell all your blood relatives
Include all your blood relatives, of all genders. They can have risks you might not think about.
For example, a mutation linked to breast cancer can put men at higher risk for breast cancer and other cancers. And they can pass the mutation on to their children.
LINDA: With extended family, it's especially important to respect their ability to make their own decisions. You're just there to share information and support them as they think about what to do.
Often the biggest challenge is how to start the conversation. You can practice a few ways today.
Player chooses the response option: Tell me more about how cancer can run in families.
LINDA: Everyone has some chance of getting cancer. Some people have a higher chance than others. One source of risk is gene changes, or mutations, we can inherit from our parents. That's how cancer runs in families.
Pic 13: A full screen graphic of a family tree can be seen on a blue background. The ends of each of the branches are represented by red and light blue dots.
LINDA: Knowing your family history or getting a genetic test can tell you about your chances of getting cancer. If you know you have higher chances, you can take steps to lower those chances of getting cancer or catch it early. Cancer is often easier to treat if you catch it early.
Pic 14: A full screen dark blue background appears with the following text:
Family history & Genetic Testing
Learn about your cancer risk
Try to reduce risk
Catch it early
Player chooses the response option: What's a gene?
LINDA: Genes are like a set of directions that tell your body how to grow and function. You get them from your parents, and they make you you. They affect lots of things, from your eye color to height. Some of these genes may have changes, or mutations, in them that can affect your health.
Pic 15: A DNA icon watermark can be seen on a full screen blue background. Three icons appear to represent the silhouettes of a dad, son, and mom. A red vertical measuring line appears in between the dad and son and is labeled “Height.” Red lines connecting the heads of the dad and son are labeled “Hair”, while two lines connecting the heads of the son and mom are labeled “Eyes” and “Ears”.
Player chooses the response option: What's a genetic test?
LINDA: If genes are directions for how your body works, a genetic test looks at parts of those directions. It looks for anything unusual, certain changes, or mutations, that we know are linked to higher chances of health problems.
Pic 16: Multiple cell icons appear as watermarks on a full screen blue background. A book icon appears with a small DNA icon label on it. In front of the book is a magnifying glass with a red question mark inside. The following text appears:
Genetic Testing: Looks for changes or mutations linked to higher chances of having health problems.