23&Me: Would You Rather Know?

My wife got me 23&Me and I finally sent the kit in and got the results.

 

I was pretty excited about it, but before they tell you about your heritage, they ask if you want results around some diseases you may be predisposed to based on your DNA. Things like Alzheimer's, certain kinds of cancer, and heart disease.

 

I actually struggled with this question alot. Do I want to know if I'm likely to get Alzheimer's? There's really not much you can do to prevent it, as far as I know. Do I always want that in the back of my head?

 

What would do? Is it better to know or not know?

I would want to know, yes. It should be somewhat apparent looking at your family history, but just for the cancer aspect I think it's worth it. That's something you can manage if you get out ahead of it.

 

Of course, I haven't seen a doctor in 20 years, out of laziness, so I'm maybe not a good judge on stuff like that.

Being predisposed to something helps you make better medical and life decisions. I think it's better to be in the know than in the dark. Like, if you're predisposed to heart disease, you can work on it now and do more cardio, or if diabetes, go lower carb in your diet.

 

And hey, if you're predisposed to something incurable, you know what to donate to.

I?d also struggle making that decision but I think it?s for the better if you know.

I'm in the 'let's know' camp.

yes, but certainly with trepidation.

Btw there are a few concerns with tests like these. I had this discussion the other day and apparently there are some concerns that years down the road if you found out a predisposition to disease x and didn’t disclose it to your insurance provider, thry could try to use that to reject coverage.

 

Also I do believe there is some precedence for using sharing your results if you’ve committed a crime to identify you since the fine print in some of these say you agree to share your results.

Don't buy several tests for multiple family members. who knows what happens when it turns out yours is different from your siblings.

Don't buy several tests for multiple family members. who knows what happens when it turns out yours is different from your siblings.

 

If so, were they ever really your true siblings?

If so, were they ever really your true siblings?

 

might ruin a holiday get together when your dad learns he ain't your dad