Family history of bowel and cervical cancer

My grandmother had bowel cancer in her 70s and my mother had cervical cancer in her 30s. Does this mean I have an increased risk of getting these cancers?

As cancer is common, affecting more than 1 in 3 people over their lifetime, it is not unusual to have one or more relatives with cancer. Most people won’t be at much of an increased risk of developing cancer because of their family history, especially if their relatives had cancer when they were older.

Our risk of developing cancer depends on our genetic makeup, our lifestyle and environment, and how they interact with each other. This is a complicated area and we have further information about genes and cancer risk on our website. If you are concerned about your family history of cancer you can discuss this with your GP.

Bowel cancer can run in some families. Your risk is likely to be significantly increased if you have

A first degree relative (father, mother, brother, sister or child) who developed bowel cancer before they were 45 years old, or
2 first degree relatives diagnosed with bowel cancer at any age

As your grandmother was in her 70s when she was diagnosed with bowel cancer, it is unlikely to increase your risk of developing the disease. We have information about risks and causes of bowel cancer in our bowel cancer section.

There is no known genetic link between bowel cancer and cervical cancer. However, some studies show that having a first degree relative with cervical cancer may increase your risk of developing the disease. But it is not clear yet if this is due to inherited faulty genes or common lifestyle factors, or both. This increase in risk is small and most women who have a relative with cervical cancer do not develop it themselves.

The main risk factor for cervical cancer is the human papilloma virus (HPV). We can reduce our risk of developing cervical cancer by having regular cervical screening tests as part of the cervical screening programme. There is more about risks and causes for cervical cancer and cervical screening in our cervical cancer section.