familial adenomatous polyposis/gardner syndrome support & awareness

FAMILIAL ADENOMATOUS POLYPOSIS aka…FAP and has also been called GARDNERS SYNDROME Is an Inherited Colorectal Cancer Syndrome that affects 1% of all colorectal cancer cases. Familial means it runs in families; Adenomatous means the type of polyps found in the colon and small intestine that can ( AND IN MOST CASES WILL ) turn into cancer; Polyposis means the condition of having polyps usually 100’s to 1000’s. It usually develops starting in the teens. A Genetic blood test will confirm this disease and the gene is on the long arm of Chromosome 5 and is also called the APC Gene. Everyone missing the APC gene will develop colorectal cancer from the colon polyps usually by he age of 40. A person MUST have the colon and sometimes the rectum removed to prevent colon cancer. The APC gene that causes FAP is present in all of the body’s cell so other organs can also develop polyp growths.