It took just a few minutes and a few questions about my personal and family health histories…
The pathology report for the lesion recently excised from my back.
The Sebaceous Carcinoma excised from my chest the year before (and the very casual mention of Muir-Torre Syndrome by my dermatologist at the time).
The fact that I was a Colon Cancer survivor.
The fact that my mother had Endometrial Cancer in her forties.
The fact that her father died from Bladder Cancer at age fifty-six.
It all added up, as clear as could be: Lynch Syndrome. (and a particular variant called Muir-Torre Syndrome)
It was also clear that I inherited it from my mother, that she inherited it from her father, that it had been killing people on my mother’s side of the family for generations, and that it was still with us.