Colon cancer risk traced to common ancestor

A married couple who sailed to America from England around 1630 are the reason why thousands of people in the United States are at higher risk of a hereditary form of colon cancer, researchers said on Wednesday.

My ancestors can be traced back in American history as early as the Mayflower (1620). I am a direct descendant of John and Priscilla Alden and others who came to Plymouth. My family has lived in New York for about 350 years. I am a descendant of a big chunk of the early settlers, as my family married into many of the families that followed. There are bits and pieces of my DNA that can be traced back far and wide.

I am very concerned that this colon cancer risk might have something to do with me. I would like to know the names of the couple that brought the colon cancer gene to the US. My mother has researched our genealogy on both sides and it is possible that I could tell quite quickly if I could have inherited the gene.

My Dad died of colon cancer. His ancestry was about a quarter Dutch going back to the original settlers of the Hudson Valley, but the families married the English settlers who followed. If the right information could possibly save my life, I think I should know. What possible reasons could these researchers have to not release the names? It is not a privacy issue. The name Graham I inherit from my Scotch Irish ancestors who came much later. Only my mother could tell if I was actually descended from the couple who carried the gene.

Colon cancer risk traced to common ancestor: “Using a genetic fingerprint, a U.S. team traced back a so-called founder genetic mutation to the couple found among two large families currently living in Utah and New York.