Colon cancer is becoming more common. There will be around 125,000 new cases diagnosed in America this year. Many of these cases are in people more than 50 years old and are random. A small percentage, approximately 10%, however are not random, they have an inherited form of colon cancer. This could be caused by four different hereditary conditions, hereditary non-polyposis colon cancer, familial adenomatous polyposis, juvenile polyposis (this may also be nonhereditary) and Peutz-Jegher's syndrome. Colon cancer is caused by damage to the genes in your colon cells. These damages can cause the cells to grow unrestricted. This unrestricted growth becomes a polyp, which will become cancerous if it's not removed. Usually it takes a long time for polyps to develop and even longer to become cancerous. That's why colon cancer is rare in people less than 50 years old. The cases in people less than 50 are frequently caused by an inherited condition. Inherited colon cancers are difficult to accurately diagnose. It is first considered when a person has a strong family history of colon cancer and the affected family members are from separate generations. For example - a man has two uncles and a cousin that have been diagnosed, this would be a strong family history. With a bit of research into that patient's family tree, many more cases of colon cancer may be found and documented.... http://groups.google.com/group/familytreesyvs