Hear candid conversations between people conquering cancer – patients, their family and friends, and doctors and researchers working to help us all.
Cancer Interrupts a Charmed Life
Robin and Dave Dubin were college sweethearts who moved to the suburbs and started a family. Then Dave was diagnosed with colon cancer at age 29. After Dave had surgery and chemotherapy, life got back to normal.
Dave would need annual colonoscopies for the rest of his life. About ten years after his first diagnosis, his doctors discovered a tumor. They were able to remove the tumor with surgery so Dave didn’t have to go through chemo again. But because of his family history of cancer, Dave started thinking about genetics and how his own children may be impacted.
Testing Positive for a Genetic Mutation
Dave’s doctors recommended he get genetic testing for hereditary cancer syndromes. He tested positive for Lynch syndrome, which puts him at an increased risk for developing multiple types of cancer.
“I think the realization of the genetic predisposition had a profound effect on me,” Dave says. “The first colon cancer was like a rite of passage. The second colon cancer started setting off alarms, and it made me realize that this wasn't going away.
Genetic testing has changed how families think about cancer. The Dubins talk candidly about their decision to test their sons and how they felt when one of them tested positive
