I hope you are having an awesome weekend.

Have you lost a loved one through a disease?

The first thing you do when you go to new doctor for a
physical is filling out your family health history. Your
family history can tell your doctor about potential health risks.

I was devastated when I found out my mom had cancer. I was
fortunate that they found it early enough to treat. She is
doing well now. She's been five years cancer free.

We all have a piece of our past. I have my mom's
beautiful smile. I have my Dad's 6 plus feet height.
It feels great to have these traits.

You can also carry on many of your parent's ailments.
Do you know if you carry any any potential genetic health risks?

Do a bit of detective work and you'll find yourself
asking some questions that may raise some health concerns.

If you're close member is deceased, look for copies of
old medical records or some old personal letters and
look for things that talk about their lifestyle.

If you don't have records, look at old picture and if
possible, videos. If a picture can tell a thousand words,
a video can tell a million words. Start with easy stuff like height
and weights. How is their posture? Even things, like if a family
member develops things like dowagers hump.

Look back for things that bring up red flags. Do you notice any injuries?
Look for any visual cues that may tell you a story.
Also, if a loved one, say,developed medical ailments like cancer in
their early thirties. This should be taken more seriously than if they
developed the cancer in their late seventies.

Draw up a simple genology tree and look for patterns.
You can't change genetics but you have great control over
lifestyle habits.

Do what you can to minimize those health risks. You have
the power. If you want things in your life to change, you have
to change things in your life. Look back, ask plenty of questions
and you can learn a lot from your family's lifestyle habits.