A Cancer in the Family: Take Control of Your Genetic Inheritance is a guide to inherited cancers that is written for the patient. Theodora Ross, M.D., Ph.D. has an excellent background and experience in cancer genetics. She has cancer on both sides of her family and that is part of the reason that she decided to go into the field. She has the BRCAI mutation. Her personal introduction to cancer was a melanoma. She was young, olive skinned with dark brown eyes and hair. Why did she get melanoma, she wasn't the usual candidate? There were two clues that it was inherited. One is that she was young when she had melanoma and that her sister died of breast cancer when she was young. Cancer mutations do not just involve one type of cancer. With the type of cancer that her sister had, came an increased risk for melanoma among other cancers. There were clues like her ancestry. The gene itself protects against those cancers. It was the mutation that put her into danger. Not all mutations are evil but this one is.

This book is part mystery, a lot of recent science and is narrated by the author as if she is your good friend. She has chapters that explain what happens during genetic counseling and why it is so beneficial. She has had it herself.

I think that is an extremely useful tool for anyone thinking about getting genetic counseling or someone who just wants to learn more about cancer. There is an appendix which gives information on the different kinds of inherited cancers and another for risk for inherited cancer syndromes and a great resource section in the back of the book. This is a book that I will keep around for reference and possibly re-reading. I am positive that Theodora Ross, M.D, Ph.D filled a great need for cancer patients when she wrote this book.

I received this Advance Reading Copy from the publisher as a win from FirstReads but that in no way influenced my thoughts or feelings in this review. ( )

Dr. Ross has given us a book of exceptional help. We do not know everything about the genetic inheritance, but we do know some and we are learning all the time. She brings us up to date in this rapidly growing, or exploding field with what problems we find in our genes and how they may or may not affect us or others in our family. It was fascinating to read about the problems with our genes and some of the ways we have used our knowledge to fight the diseases that certain of us are susceptible to. Good job.

J. Robert Ewbank author "John Wesley, Natural Man, and the Isms" "Wesley's Wars" "To Whom It May Concern" and "Tell Me About the United Methodist Church" ( )