Tuesday, August 08, 2006

Biotrek hits the West Coast!

If you could know whether you were likely to suffer from a serious genetic disease like breast or colo-rectal cancer would you want to? How would your life change? Would you like to know whether your children would carry these gene mutations before they are born?

13 comments:

Anonymous said...

yes i would

Anonymous said...

If I could know whether I'm more prone to certain genetic diseases, I would like to know so that I would be aware of my conditions. Nonetheless, life would be slightly different since there would always be a bit of a fear. On the positive side however, if I know for sure that I'm not carrying the genes for some diseases, it would be a great relief.

Anonymous said...

If I knew that I was predisposed to be affected by a disease, I would want to know as soon as possible so I could take the proper preventative measures to postpone or possibly avoid its onset. I would also want to know if the disease is dominant or recessive to determine the probability of my offspring also inherting such a disease.

Anonymous said...
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Anonymous said...

If it is possible, of course I would like to know if I have these diseases because it would both relieve my worries as well as answer many unanswered questions about my health. The results of these tests will affect me in some ways. I would obviously find methods to treat any diseases that I've been diagnosed with. But, the main thing is that I would still continue to live my life to the fullest for as long as I live.

Again if possible, I would definitely want to know if my future children would carry these gene mutations before they are born, so that they will not have to suffer through the disease.

Anonymous said...

I wouldn't mind knowing since it would allow me to be aware of my health condition. However, on the other hand, it may probably lead me into paranoia since yeah... it's not easy to face the fact that you are sick with no cure.

Hmm... I think it is very useful to be informed about any gene mutations on a child before s/he is born... but then if there are gene mutations on that one child, I wouldn't know what to do. It'll just be too much to worry about, right?

Anonymous said...

Yes I would like to know because of several reasons. It would definitely relieve me of a tremendous amount of anxiety. I could either live a carefree life and worry about things like credit card debt or think about a built-in time bomb. How would my life change? Well...I think that depends on the severity of the disease and what the expected onset (time) would be. If it was something that would not hit me till I was at least 65 years old..I think my lifestyle would be very similar to that of my peers. I would work and save up for my future generations. However before I start a family I would like to know whether I would transfer my "harmful" genes to my children. If that did happen...I guess I would invest my love, money and time on my brother's kids.

If the disease hit me in my early stages of life and it would probably kill me, then I would live my life differently. It would no longer be only about passing Provincials or getting in to University. It would probably be about helping research institutes..doing public speeches..you know more "worthwhile" things.

Having said all this, just because I'm told I'll get a disease doesn't mean I'll keep telling myself, oh I shouldn't do this because it might harm my heart..I would try to live as normal a life as possible.

This concludes my blog for today :).

J. said...
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J. said...
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J. said...

Of course I would want to know, I'm the type of person that would die of uncertainty unless I know definitely. Ignorance is not bliss for me, personally.

If I was likely to suffer from a serious genetic disease, I would be quite upset at first, but overall I would probably learn to be more appreciative of life. If I wasn't likely to suffer, then I would likely celebrate my new found sense of relief.

As for my children, I am undecided on the issue. On one hand, I would not want to bring a person into this world with a disadvantage, but I also wouldn't want to discriminate among potential children. Besides, I want things to be as natural and as much of a surprise as possible.

Just to note, all the males here would probably not have a choice concerning the decision with future offspring because that would most likely be under the influence of the female counter-part.

Also, I'm curious whether or not the "gene selection" in Gattaca would overall decrease the size of human gene pools, effectively reducing variety among humans, making us more likely to be wiped out by a pandemic?

Anonymous said...

Personally, I believe that it is crucial that we live as though we don't have to worry about possible future diseases. If we did, we'd give up on growing, learning and developing our lives because we already know how it's going to end. I think it's a creative idea to know what will come in the future, but in terms of diseases, it's best to leave that in the shadows. Who wants to know exactly what they are going to die of if they can't even prevent it? It's just a burden in your mind and there are already enough of those to have to worry about another one.

As for my children, as long as it is not a disease that would hinder them before they fully experienced life, I wouldn't want to know.

I don't know. Maybe when they discover the cures for these diseases, I'll change my mind; for now, I'd rather not know.

Anonymous said...

If I could, I would test for all serious genetic diseases that I may be susceptible to as soon as possible. Regardless of how my life would change emotionally, it is essential to know what possible risks I may face. By knowing certain information, we are able to make more educated decisions about having children, etc. In fact, my life wouldn’t change for knowing. I would still be the same person, but only with more knowledge. I strongly doubt I would become a “high risk individual” or waste away my life knowing I will die a certain way, because nothing is certain at all. Many of the diseases in question develop at a late age, and by then there may be a cure, or I could have died by another means not prophesized on my genetic code. I would definitely like to know if my children would carry gene mutations, because then I could take the means to ensure that the healthiest child possible is born, i.e through the process used for individuals who have a high risk of passing on trisomy-21. Ultimately, I believe that not supporting genetic testing is a modern way of staying in the dark ages.

Anonymous said...

I wold love to know if I had any type of disease, no matter what time in my life it might affect. I think it's important to know what to expect and to make sure I'm prepared for and incident. Even if I did know I had a disease, it's still important to live life the way I feel is right. I also think it's wrong or a little overboard to overthink or rashly take action after finding a disease that will affect one's life.

Knowing if a child will have a disease before it is born is a good thing. Using or picking embryos before their brains develop isn't that bad, and if it's going to benefit the next generations, why not?