Colon Cancer Risk

My mom has recently been diagnosed with colon cancer (she is in her late sixties - tumor type: adenocardinoma) and my sister was diagnosed in her mid twenties with ovarian cancer (mucinous adenocarcinoma).

My history is positive for Endometriosis which was diffuse throughout my abdominal cavity according to the results of the pathology report after my total hysterectomy and bilateral oopherectomy in October 2005.

I am currently experiencing abdominal symptoms that have required many diagnostic tests.  While still undiagnosed, the doctor has requested I undergo a capsule endoscopy test to explore the possibility of Crohn's disease.  My colonoscopy was negative although many biopsies were taken apparently, but the results are still pending.  Apparently, my blood work (elevated ESR and ASCA positive, ANCA negative) and symptoms suggest an inflammatory bowel disease although I do have a "hypodense lesion" on my liver and delayed gastric emptying apparently.

Do you believe there is any genetic testing I should consider that may help the docs pinpoint the cause of my symptoms?  Are there any similarities in previously mentioned diagnoses or my symptoms that should be explored further?  
Thank you

[Lisa Kessler, MS, CGC]

I am sorry to hear about your unexplained symptoms and about your mother’s diagnosis of colon cancer.  Given your family history of colon and ovarian cancer in two first degree relatives (parent, sibling, and children are first degree relatives), your family may benefit from meeting with a genetic counselor especially one with experience in cancer risk assessment. You can find a local genetic counselor through the National Society of Genetic Counselors.  A genetic counselor would review your personal history and family medical history in detail and determine if the cancers in your family fit into a hereditary cancer syndrome. In other words, a genetic counselor would try to determine if there is a relationship among the diagnoses. When you see a genetic counselor, it is important to bring the reports from the colonoscopy and from the biopsies that were taken.  Knowing if there is a single cause to the diagnoses may help guide your cancer screening, provide you with information about risks for your family members, and may help provide information about your own health.   Genetic testing is available for many hereditary cancer syndromes and you can talk with a genetic counselor about the benefits and limitations of those tests.   Good luck determining a cause of your symptoms.