Take a hike up your family tree

Does diabetes run in your family? How about cancer? Heart disease? This is the stuff you should know about your relatives, not because you're destined to fall prey to the same ailments -- although it's a possibility -- but because family history can help you chart your course for a lifestyle of prevention. If your mom and aunt both had breast cancer, for example, and you know a healthy diet and regular exercise help ward off this disease, then you can hop on board and embrace these practices. Add annual mammograms, clinical exams, and your own monthly self-exams, and you might just keep one step ahead of cancer.

It all starts with knowledge. So grab a pen and paper and begin recording your family health history. It'll be like your map -- keep it handy for yourself and take it with you to medical appointments. Here's how to put it all together.

• Call or send e-mails to relatives informing them of your health project. Cover at least three generations -- yours (include siblings and cousins), your parents (include siblings), and your grandparents.
  

• Inquire about deceased relatives. Even if the information is approximate, it's better than nothing at all.
  
  
• Collect a complete heart history from each family member. Include high blood pressure, high cholesterol, heart attacks, and peripheral artery disease. Note age of diagnosis.
  
  
• Ask about stroke, brain,and other nervous system disorders, like Alzheimer's. Many progressive diseases respond well if treated early.
  
  
• Gather data on cancer, especially breast, prostate, skin, and colon cancers -- these carry a strong hereditary link and can be passed on from both maternal and paternal sides.
  
  
• Inquire about alcoholism, mood disorders, and sleep problems. They also have a family connection.
  
  
• Distribute your chart to family members. Keep the master copy in a safe place and update each year when family members are together.
  

Only one-third of Americans have ever tried to document their family health history. What do you say we increase that percentage?