If cancer runs in your family, there are many things you can do to help lower your risk of getting it. First, you should make sure there is nothing in your home that can cause cancer. One thing that you should check for is radon. Below is information about what radon is, the health problems it can cause, and how to have your home tested.

Radon

Radon is found outside in most cases and is a type of gas that is generally harmless in low levels. Radon is the result of uranium breaking down in rocks and soil. In some cases, radon will build up and get inside homes if the home is built on soil that already contains radon. The radon gets into the house through any type of crack or opening in the walls or flooring, or through gaps around pipes or holes or cracks in foundation. 

If your home does have radon in it, the levels are generally highest in the crawl space or in a basement. The radon does spread throughout your home, however. 

Radon Health Problems

The main health problem radon causes is lung cancer. If you have it in your home, radon goes directly into your lungs when you breathe. Once in your lungs, radon destroys your lung cells and damages the lining in each of your lungs. If you currently smoke, this increases your lung cancer risk even more.

The longer you live in your home and are exposed to the radon, the higher the chances are that you will get lung cancer. Besides lung cancer, you may also experience sore throats, a cough, upper respiratory problems, and more. 

Test Your Home for Radon

Radon cannot be tasted or smelled by anyone in your home, so you will have no idea if your home has this. There are radon test kits available that you can purchase to test your home for radon. You can find these test kits online. The kit will come with complete instructions on how to use it. The kit will have a device that is used to test your home. When finished, you mail the device to an address that will be in the test kit. The company will then test the device and will let you know if any radon was found and if so, the level of radon that was detected.

You can also hire a company that provides radon home testing services to come to your home and test for radon. If you are unsure if you want to use a test kit, this may be your best route to take. The company will have professional devices that they use and will be able to test the device on their own. This way, you will likely get the test results back quicker. 

If radon is found in your home, you need to hire a radon mitigation company to remove it for you as soon as possible.