Hello Kimberly6 and a warm welcome to our forum, 

Thank you for coming here and sharing your fears about your family history. Even though it can also be a source of worry or anxiety, it is important to know your family history so that you can inform your doctor if you are worried or concerned about any symptoms. You mentioned that you are displaying possible signs of kidney cancer and it is worth going to your GP and flagging what these symptoms are with your doctor just as you did when you had a bowel cancer scare. You might be interested in reading our information on Family history and inherited cancer genes which looks at how inherited faulty genes can cause cancer and what you can do if you have a strong family history of cancer. It mentions that you should talk to your GP if you think that you may have a strong family history of cancer. Your GP will ask you about your family and how many members have had cancer, so it is important to have as much information about your relatives’ cancer diagnoses as possible.

Try not to worry too much though or to fear cancer every time you have the slightest health niggle - having a strong family history of cancer doesn't necessarily mean that you will get cancer yourself but it is indeed important to be vigilant and to communicate well and thoroughly with your GP every time you experience symptoms you are concerned about. 

If you wanted to talk to our nurses about this or  if you have any question for them, feel free to give them a call on this free number 0808 800 4040 - their helpline is open Monday to Friday from 9am to 5pm. 

I hope that you manage to see someone very soon about your symptoms and that it all turns out to be nothing of concern. 

Best wishes, 

Lucie, Cancer Chat Moderator