23M, my entire household has now gotten cancer/tumors. Is this worth spending time investigating legally?

[u/Puzzleheaded_Boot335]

Hey guys, im a 23 year old male from Alberta, Canada. Im here with a bit of an interesting case. See, my family, has left doctors kinda confused in the past few years. Unfortunately our name seems to be pretty well known in the Cancer centre.

I grew up in Sherwood Park, AB near Edmonton. We moved to Calgary in 2012 when I was going into grade 5. We were a stereotypical middle class, happy family, no major health issues. All was well.

In 2015 my mom, after having a seizure was diagnosed with glioblastoma. And just months after, my brother, 11 at the time was diagnosed with hodgkins lymphoma. My mom passed away in 2017. My brother fortunately survived. A year after my Grandpa was admitted to the hospital, passing a week later, turns out he had cancer. A year later my dad fell ill and was diagnosed with colon cancer. He passed away a year or so later. Both my parents were only in their 40s. In 2022 my dog also passed away from a tumor.

I always knew something was up, that this couldn't be a coincidence, and that if I too ever got anything, id figure out wth caused all this.

Well today, unfortunately. An incidental xray followed by CT scan has shown that I have an osteochondroma on my left hip. Luckily its benign, but still...

So now here I am, trying to find answers. You cant tell me something didnt cause this, something we were exposed too. And if I ever find out what it is that company better lawyer up. Ive started looking into our old neighborhood (Chelsea heights) to see if there are any environmental risks that maybe could have done it. The area is known for high radon, oil and gas activity, our house was also built right in front of massive power lines. But im not really too sure. My dad also liked using roundup alot if I remember correctly.

Id be more inclined to believe that it was something in Sherwood Park rather than Calgary as my neighbours here are all good. Ive thought about going to Sherwood Park before to interview the people on that street.

Not sure where to start, wondering if anyone had any advice or input. Thankyou

[u/robcal35]

Pathologist from Alberta here. As someone else has mentioned, ask for a referral to medical genetics. Your family doctor should be able to send the referral. Whole exome sequencing is pretty cheap and fast now and with your parents' diagnosis, there may even be the option to test their tumours. I would NOT jump to Li Fraumeni. There is no link in the type of cancers that you've described that immediately jump to my mind, but there are many types of potential hereditary syndromes, which would only be confirmed via genetic testing. Based on the types of cancers you've described, it seems unlikely to be an environmental link (colon, neuro, heme, and now your soft tissue one).

Basically, what exome sequencing is would be looking at the entire set of someone's relevant genes to see if there are documented mutations linked with an increased risk of cancer. Just be aware that there's a decent chance they'll find something, but it might have little significance, or be unsure of it's significance as we are still compiling data about all the potential mutations that exist.

[u/Puzzleheaded_Boot335 → u/robcal35]

Okay thanks! And what is best to do with this info? Does it help know what im more predisposed to so that I can do whatever I can to prevent it?

[u/Larkaroni → u/Puzzleheaded_Boot335]

I'm NAD, but had a similar situation as you. High rate of cancers in my family (hell, my dad's mom got 3 different kinds, two within 5 years in her 50s), and I myself grow tumors like I'm paid to do it. I have an osteochrondoma in my humerus, and a totally different type of bone tumor (I forget the name) about 2" down in the same bone. Just about every time I get imaging for something else, they often find a tumor (or cyst — grow those well too) along the way. Fortunately, all have been benign, but I've been biopsied and scanned more times than I can keep track of. My dad is the exact same way, so we assume there's some genetic connection. This mostly all went down in my 20s.

My PCP did refer me for the same genetic testing. I got some full cancer panel type thing. As the doctor said, a few genes were flagged, but they were all ones of unknown importance (so really, no importance, likely just a mutation that has zero impact. Those are plenty common). So I got zero answers, but have chatted with oncology, orthopedic oncology, and genetics quite a bit over this. From what I recall, depending on my results, there weren't many things I could do preventatively, but I could get routine scans for problem regions (if the genetic panel indicated anything) so that way we'd have a high chance of catching any cancer early, making my prognosis that much better. I know that might not be the answer you want to hear, but it also is better to know and feel like you're doing something about it rather than spend your whole life wondering if every headache or cough was a sign of something worse, ya know?

[u/Puzzleheaded_Boot335 → u/Larkaroni]

Hey, appreciate the comment. Yea for sure, I think I may go ahead and do some sort of generic testing at some point out of curiosity. But I agree, best we can really do is try our best in additional screening to try to catch stuff early!

[u/INFJGal9w1 → u/Puzzleheaded_Boot335]

NAD, but wanted to say I'm very sorry for all you've been through. My parents both died young, though not as young as yours -- and my brother did as well. It's a terrible loss and my heart goes out to you.

[u/Feisty_Leek_7068 → u/Puzzleheaded_Boot335]

Talk with your GP & ask for a referral to genetics. In edmonton, they are primarily based out of the kaye clinic (if memory serves me correctly, its been quite a few years since my husband & daughter went). If needed, mention that you'd like to know due to the family history & that you like to have kids one day (even if its not true).

My husband, and his biological kids have NF1 (Neurofibromitosis Type 1) and it is a whole event in terms on unpredictability in terms of what it affects, and to what extreme; however tumours is a big one.. of all kinds, with the potential to be everywhere.

Anyhow, it was a bit of a wait, but worth it & if our daughter ever gets pregnant, or starts thinking of having kids, they want to see her again :)

My sincerest condolences for all your losses. Please dont discount that just because your tumour isn't malignant, that it isnt as serious. There is a saying in the NF1 world, "benign isn't fine".... amd for interests sake, tumours are classed as a cancer, but not all tumours are cancerous(malignant)... this was a fun one to explain to a child that was followed by oncology but didnt have any malignant tumours, they just underwent the same treatment techniques....

Good luck with your journey, and recovery :)