A colleague at the Medical College told me about this article that ran in the Sunday New York Times about the difficult decisions patients sometimes are faced with in the era of genetics http://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/16/health/16gene.html?ex=1347681600&en=ead2468f0794dcd8&ei=5124&partner=permalink&exprod=permalink.
As researchers continue to identify the genes linked to particular diseases, ordinary people are left with some extremely difficult decisions. If you know you have a family history of a disease, do you get yourself tested for the gene? What will you do if you find out you do have the gene for a disease? Are you ready to subject yourself to life-altering surgery to prevent a disease you found out you have a 60 percent chance of developing in your lifetime? What if it was a 90 percent chance? What if you find out you carry the gene for a disease for which there is no cure? Then what?
The article also shows the family dynamics of a genetic disease. If someone finds out he or she is a carrier for a disease, it potentially impacts the members of his or her family, even if the family member never wanted to know. These lead to difficult family discussions as family members struggle to come to terms with their shared family history and how the decisions one family member makes can impact the whole family.
Presented with the option of knowing your risk for a disease makes it all the more important to have a doctor you feel comfortable talking to and asking questions. Having a doctor to answer your questions can help you make a well-informed decision and prepare you to face the consequences, whatever the results may be.
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