For two kinds of ‘survivors,’ filling in the gaps on family medical history

A crucial question that doctors routinely ask patients left Rifky Atkin speechless.

Diagnosed with an aggressive breast cancer, Atkin was exploring treatment options when her surgeon asked, “Is there a family history of breast cancer in your family?”

The mother of four from Edison, N.J., stammered, “I don’t know and I’ll never know.”

Her parents survived Auschwitz as teenagers, she explained, but not their parents. Her four grandparents were killed in the death camp, taking with them all knowledge of the family medical history.