Pass on your family health knowledge
Appointing a family health historian can help keep medical information up to date.
Learn moreIf you have made the personal decision to share your health information with your family, the next step is figuring out the best way to do so. Sharing health information with relatives may not be a common topic of conversation among your family. It is important to keep in mind that this conversation may bring up different emotions among individuals. One way that can be helpful to start the discussion is to share something you learned about your own health.
When you receive a diagnosis of an inherited condition, there is a chance that other members of your family may be affected as well. Sharing this information can help your relatives take charge of their health.
You can do this. Here’s a prompt to start the conversation.
(fill in the blanks)
_____ was the day I was diagnosed with _____.
My symptoms are: _____ and _____, but I've also learned symptoms can
include _____ and _____. I'm sharing this with you because _____.
Tell your story in 3 steps
Have a talk
with a family member face-to-face, by email, over the phone, or record and send an audio file.
Focus on the positives,
such as the benefit of allowing a family member to consider being screened at an earlier age or take steps to reduce their risk.
Share what you learn
with your doctor and other family members, even if you don’t have all the information yet.
Consider talking to your wider support system, including friends. They may want to share their story, too.
Top health questions for family members
One way to better understand your condition is to ask questions about the health of your family. This can help determine if you have a higher risk for a specific medical condition. In order to get the most out of conversations with your relatives, it can be helpful to have a list of questions to guide the discussion. It can be useful to think about information from your own medical history that you may want to share, such as completed screening tests, confirmed diagnoses, and any treatments.
Understand that your relatives may not be willing to share their health information with you, and that’s okay. The decision to share health information is personal, and members of the same family may approach this topic differently.
Family Dialogue Tool