Experts Recommend Gathering Family Medical History Over the Holidays

Medical experts are recommending people use the holiday season as a perfect time to ask relatives about their medical histories.  Many people have very little insight into the major diseases that may "run in the family".

Experts say that simple conversations with family members can provide a better idea of which conditions one is more at risk to develop than could a more expensive test such as genetic screening.

Prominent scientists such as Francis Collins, who heads the U.S. National Institutes of Health, have stated recently that the holiday season is a great time to unearth important family medical history.

Family history is one of the most important known risk factors for the development of prostate cancer.