We encourage the proband to bring their relatives who are interested. During the clinic evaluation, the history and medical records are reviewed and a pedigree is drawn. A pedigree is a diagram of all the family members and their relationships as well as the pertinent medical information for each. The pedigree facilitates a study of the pattern of cancer occurrences in the family. Often it will be possible at that time to determine if the cancer in the family is hereditary. However, in some cases this may take more time in gathering the necessary records so that the diagnosis can be secure. The medical facts associated with the diagnosis will be discussed with the proband. Information about the genetic aspects will be explained and the proband's risk of cancer will be defined.
