myelodysplastic

Pease explain to me more about MDS as my oldest brother has recently found out he has this. Is this something that runs in families. I have lost 2 brothers to cancer in past 3 yrs.

[Lisa Kessler, MS, CGC]

I hope that this is helpful for you and your brother.  People who have a group of disorders called myelodysplastic syndromes have stem cells that do not mature or function properly.  This leads to a lack of healthy cells and serious complications.  This generally does not run in families.  However, there are some genetic disorders and birth defects that increase the chance of developing a myelodysplastic syndrome.  

Given your family history of cancer, you may find it beneficial to talk 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 family medical history in detail and determine if the cancers in the 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. Knowing if there is a single cause to the diagnoses may help guide cancer screening and provide you with information about risks for your family members. 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 and whether any of them are appropriate to consider for your family.