Personal Experience with HNPCC Genetic Testing
The eloquent Dr. Charles has an entry about a patient’s personal experience with genetic screening for hereditary nonpolyposis colorectal cancer (HNPCC). A worthwhile read about one person’s fear of genetic discrimination despite research to the contrary.
“My mother had colon cancer at an early age,” she continued in a hushed voice. “Her sister died from uterine cancer. My grandmother had some kind of kidney tumor, but we never really knew. My previous doctor picked up the pattern. He suggested I get some genetic testing to see if I had a kind of cancer gene.”
Read more for what the patient and Dr. Charles decided to do.
via Grand Rounds
NB: Lisa at DNA Direct Talk has more about PreGen-Plus, a DNA stool test for early detection of colon cancer.
Technorati Tags: colon cancer, bowel cancer, hnpcc, cancer, genetic testing, genes, genetics, disease, health, dna
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POSTED IN: Genetic Testing, Genetics of Disease
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3 opinions for Personal Experience with HNPCC Genetic Testing
Tom
Jul 3, 2006 at 9:27 pm
I am taking vitamins supplements for years. But I really do not know whether they help or make it worse. Gene Snp can now tell me what I really need.
Hsien Hsien Lei, PhD
Jul 4, 2006 at 3:23 am
Tom: Thanks for the comment! I’m glad genetics is working for you. ;)
Genetics and Health » New Genetics and Health Poll: How much for your DNA sequence?
Jul 24, 2006 at 4:35 pm
[…] My thinking on this might be a little counterintuitive. At this point in time, our understanding of the impact specific genes have on our overall health is somewhat limited. We know that certain genes increase our risk of cancer, like BRCA or HNPCC, and that other genes might affect how we metabolize certain drugs. But beyond that, the majority of our DNA sequence doesn’t really tell us much yet. So I figure knowing our genomic sequence isn’t worth much now and prices (if it weren’t limited by technology) would be depressed. […]
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