What would you do if you knew more about your genes?
Is information from genetic testing as useful for improving our health as other already well-understood lifestyle factors like exercise and diet? Jane Feinmann weighs the pros and cons in The Independent:
British doctors are more sceptical of the benefits of making us overly conscious of our susceptibility to disease. A recent British Medical Journal cartoon showed a picture of two ageing ladies smoking and boozing. One says: “Cancer? Frankly darling, I just don’t have the gene for it” – to which the other replies: “Well actually, darling, I do, but I simply don’t care.”
If the cartoon demonstrates anything, it’s that humans will do whatever they want in the face of damning evidence. Lately, I’ve taken to saying (or thinking), “Do what you want.” That’s what people end up doing anyway regardless.
Independent, August 15, 2006
Technorati Tags: smoking, genetic testing, genetics, genes, dna, disease, illness, health
I have just been reading “The Rise and Fall of Modern Medecine” by James Fanu. Written 6 years ago it’s fairly damning of the idea that studying genes will really make a lot of difference to health outcome. Le Fanu points out that most illnesses today are age related, and that as time passes the chance of an error creeping in rise dramatically…
Do genes carry the answer to diseases we still don’t know the cause of, such as rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, Crohn’s, schizophrenia? Will knowing the gene responsible actually affect treatment or outcome? For children unlucky enough to be born with cystic fibrosis it hasn’t helped to know the gene responsible…
There have been quite a lot of cancer deaths in my family, I don’t want genetic testing, I don’t think I would change my lifestyle dramatically as I don’t think there’s much (apart from not smoking) that would really change the outcome.
I had a disagreement with a diabetic patient who felt ill in the night and asked for a sugar lump. I tested her blood-sugar and it was above normal, so I explained this and said that sugar would not be helpful. She was furious, accused me of treating her like an idiot, said that at home she always treated “le mal avec le mal” and that it worked. I felt that I couldn’t agree medically, and in the end she discharged herself the next day. So, like your cartoon ladies, it seems that for some people, knowledge isn’t sufficent to bring about change!
Sorry, Hsien, for the overlong reply!
Snowy: Not overlong at all! It’s a tricky situation. Some people do well with more information and others with less. But I still believe the information must be freely available for all who are interested. I strongly believe genetic information is valuable. We just don’t quite know the best way to use it yet.