Lynch Syndrome: I Got the Gene From My Mom. My Kids Didn't.
Don Helgeson has had three cancers: melanoma at 27, colon cancer at 37, and stage 3B prostate cancer at 51. One inherited gene connects all three: Lynch syndrome, a hereditary condition that raises the risk of colorectal cancer and several others.
Don is a retired Royal Canadian Mounted Police officer who served 28 years. He's a volunteer leader with Man Up to Cancer and carries the MSH2 form of Lynch syndrome, which he inherited from his mother. She was diagnosed with colon cancer at 42. Her openness led her brother and sister to get screened, and both were diagnosed.
Joelle and Don talk…
The skinny
The skinny isn't ready yet — notes appear once the transcript is processed.