Gibb's death from this cancer reminded me of something. My Mom had colon cancer back in the 1960s. They did surgery and got all of it, and she lived another several decades, dying at almost 93 and not from the cancer she had at age 57.

Someone told me that there was an ongoing study on certain Mormon families to figure out whether there was a genetic connection to this type of cancer. I checked and could not find out anything about such a study. I also have gone through the Utah death certificates for all my relatives, direct and remote, and found no colon cancer deaths on my Mom's side. Utah death certificates up to 1958 (if I remember right) are online. Free the las time I checked.

Anyone else know anything on this topic? The family in question is the same as a former BYU pres who was an also ran for apostle. I'm talking about Bateman.

I know it is genetic...add to that lots of beef, saturated fat, processed foods, whole milk and little fiber and that could set you up for increased risk..


but I don't know if it is a " mormon" thing

I've heard the ad on the radio in Utah several times that says "if you're over 50, get a colonoscopy." I'm nowhere near 50, but I certainly know to get one at that age.

and they didn't even find anything.

Gosh, don't know where you went, but it is much less than that for me, more like 1500 at the most. And they will give you discounts if you are paying cash instead of insurance.

DAng, you did get ripped off.

Studies have suggested prostate cancer risk is lower for coffee drinkers. Same with Type II diabetes and some other cancers.

http://www.webmd.com/food-recipes/features/coffee-new-health-food

I know some people who are considered fallout victims from the 1950s radiation fallout around St. George who got colon or other cancers. So maybe Mormons from that period get it more.

My daddy had itin his 50's, they don't think they got it all then it spread and caused pancreatic cancer which 13 years ago was not curable or treatable. so he died at 66, 1 year after retirement, and when his only grandchild was 18 months old. Very heartbreaking and awful.

But he was not raised LDS or from the pioneers, but his gf smoked his whole childhood, and now they know that is great risk of pancreatic cancer also.

I had my first colonoscopy at 39, and am due for another one, and I am not 50. My older brother had polyps, younger sister, etc.

Get your colonoscopy!!!

Any cancer, including colon, can have a genetic component; some can be random and a complete genetic fluke. Familial cancer studies have been shown in breast, colon, lung and etc.

I had a world renound Gastroenterologist, Dr. Randy Burt (Huntsman Cancer Institute) be the key note speaker at a physician dinner when I worked for a Cancer screening company. Dr. Burt's area of renound is that his laboratory found the famial link for some forms of Colorectal cancer. One of the research data bases Dr. Burt used was geneology records of the LDS church (being able to trace generations and birth/death and cause of death). BTW, Dr. Burt is an active mormon and former Bishop (from what he told me).

BTW, the national standards are that YEARLY cancer screenings occur for (and each of these are reimbursed for screening on a yearly basis from medicare/medicaid/insurance):

1) Breast Cancer

2) Prostate Cancer

3) Colorectal Cancer

4) Cervical Cancer

CRC should be screened YEARLY during a physician exam (for both men and women) by a DRE (digital rectal Exam) in correlation with a Guiac or Immuno Occult Blood Test (looking for blood in the stool). Colonoscopies should be conducted every 5 years starting at age 50; more frequent if a positive occult blood test occurs or if there is a family history.

I don't know if you'll find any specific family data in a peer review journal article as identities are always protected.

Good luck!

They are no longer recommending yearly screenings for cervical cancer for all women. It depends on your age (I think) and medical history. At age 39 and with clean screenings and HPV results in the last few years, I didn't have to have a pap this year.

Again, I see no relationship to "Mormons" as such.
Genetic lines can trace their roots beyond Mormon times and places.

It's more likely to be genetic and/or subject to outside influences merely from living in a given location.

Polution levels of various types can be factors, Provo 50 years ago during Geneva Steel's heyday was quite polluted & I'd expect a higher rate of certain cancers in the population exposed to it back then.
Mormon or not, anybody & everybody who lived there at the time would have been subject to the same risks.

Same deal elsewhere in the nation.

That said, my grandmother died of colon cancer in 1960. Her husband later had prostate cancer that was addressed before it killed him. Four of her offspring had it at various times, my mother's the only one who died of it.
My great grandfather on the other side died of prostate cancer, as did my grandfather. My father got it, last year I had it.
Grandpa, my father, my mother, and I were all Downwinders in St. George during the 1950s when above-ground atomic bomb testing was at its peak.


The effects of that windbourne radiation back then are still killing people as far north in Utah as Millard County with more than one type of cancer.
The federal government has maps showing certain areas of the state where wind patterns carried radiation particles, and I've had three or four family members in or from that County receive their $50,000 "Sorry Money" for their cancers.

Of course there's a genetic connection, but I can't see why ONLY Mormon families would be subjects of such studies.
Any family line that's been in Utah long enough, Mormon or non, would be just as likely to get those cancers.
Cancer is not a respector of individual religions.

I am supposed to have a colonoscopy every five years but I put it off. I used to have the annual occult blood test but in the wisdom of somebody's guidelines that has been eliminated. I want it back.

My Mom was born pre-WW I and I know from letters my grandpa wrote that they had poor nutrition because of rationing. Then came the Depression and WW2. More suffering and food shortages. I remember when we ate Spam once a week. My Dad used to say that the air pollution in SLC was horrible during the 20s and 30s because of burning coal. I saw in some of the recent Way Back photos in the Tribune that many of these early photos showed terrible air pollution.

3 of my 4 grandparents died of cancer. The other one died at a relatively early age of alcoholism and malaria contracted as a missionary in the Southern States.

Having someone peer up your butt every five years can really help detect it early. My FIL died of colon cancer within 30 days after it being detected. He had been having problems with his colon for many months but was afraid to have it checked out.

Please do that colonoscopy, everyone! The prep beforehand is a little brutal, but you lose a couple of pounds, they give you plenty of Valium, and the knowledge that you really know what is going on in your body is priceless. Ignorance is not bliss!

My Dad ate lots of beef (we were producers, after all), didn't drink coffee, ate what he wanted....and died of pneumonia at 90....

Vitamin D deficiency has been linked to colon cancer. Vitamin D deficiency is widespread north of about the 35th parallel because people don't get enough sun exposure. It may be that wearing clothing that covers up garments contributes to Vitamin D deficiency in Mormons.

Here are a couple of links regarding the importance of Vitamin D in cancer prevention.

http://www.hopkinscoloncancercenter.org/CMS/CMS_Page.aspx?CurrentUDV=59&CMS_Page_ID=AB041E4B-5568-46B9-8D12-BA3959A6F3F5

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3GM0CnO6-ds

These links are from John Hopkins and UC San Diego. Dr. Cedric Garland (UC San Diego), who has studied Vitamin D for about 30 years, believes that higher levels of Vitamin D supplementation could prevent more than 100,000 cases of breast and colon cancer a year.

What with 150 years of conversions and proslyting, how is mormons a group that is genetically homogenous? It's not an insular culture, genetically speaking. The FLDS might be a better group to study for genetically passed diseases.

He would get a letter every five years to go to Salt Lake City for a free colonoscopy. He was always negative.

His father(my grandfather) died of colon cancer in mid 1950's at 75yr. The surgeon at the time said they opened him and then closed him. We don't know if there was any pathology work done. None of his descendants have died of CRC that I know of.

My father died of a much less aggressive small bowel cancer at 90yr. He lived 3 1/2 years after diagnosis. Now I am wondering if my grandfather had the less aggressive type and they just let him die of a bowel obstruction.
My dad's oncologist said it was very possible.

I have had experience with colon cancer because I had it myself back in 1999 when I was 55 years old. I had two surgerys to remove the tumor first from the colon and then because of possible spread found at the first surgery, I had a more major surgery about 2 months later that took out a good portion of my colon. (and left me impotent, a side effect in over 50% of the surgeries like I had)

They felt that they had gotten everything after that surgery and I was told that I should be okay, but two years later they found a huge tumor in my liver that was a spread from the colon cancer I had two years prior. My prognosis at that time was not good with only a few months to live unless surgery to my liver might help and if there was no other spread to other organs or places in the body. I did major liver surgery, as it was my only chance, and it took 3/4 of my liver to get all the tumor and a very bad 9 day stay in the hospital.

I was very fortunate as this surgery seemed to get the only tumor that had gotten away from my original colon cancer and after 11 years now since the liver surgery, I still have no signs of cancer. I elected to not do chemo except to try it once and decided to just do the alternative route and try and make my body as healthy as possible and build my immune system and hope the body took care of itself and any further cancer that might come up. Well, it worked for me at least.

I have no idea about any Mormon connection with the colon cancer thing but just let you know that it is possible to beat the thing even if it goes to stage 4, meaning it has moved to other organs.