Posted on Aug 2, 2023
Cancer risk can lurk in our genes. So why don't more people get tested?
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https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2023/08/02/ [login to see] /cancer-risk-test-genetic-genes-inexpensive-why-dont-more-people-get-tested
A few years ago, Junius Nottingham Jr. was on a family vacation in Florida with his wife, his daughter and his son, Jeremy. Jeremy was 28 years old, over 6 feet tall and athletic. He had followed his dad into law enforcement and had already built a career working for federal agencies, including the U.S. Secret Service.
"Jeremy told my wife that when he has a bowel movement, he bleeds a lot," Nottingham recalls. "And so my wife says, 'It's probably hemorrhoids. When you go back to Birmingham, Alabama, go see your doctor."
His son did, and his family was blindsided by what happened next.
"We get a call the day after Jeremy went back saying that Jeremy had Stage 4 colon cancer," says Nottingham. "My wife and I are looking at each other like, 'What? What's going on?'"
Unbeknownst to them, members of the Nottingham family have a genetic variant that confers a high risk of colon cancer and other types of cancer. And in this, they're not alone.
A few years ago, Junius Nottingham Jr. was on a family vacation in Florida with his wife, his daughter and his son, Jeremy. Jeremy was 28 years old, over 6 feet tall and athletic. He had followed his dad into law enforcement and had already built a career working for federal agencies, including the U.S. Secret Service.
"Jeremy told my wife that when he has a bowel movement, he bleeds a lot," Nottingham recalls. "And so my wife says, 'It's probably hemorrhoids. When you go back to Birmingham, Alabama, go see your doctor."
His son did, and his family was blindsided by what happened next.
"We get a call the day after Jeremy went back saying that Jeremy had Stage 4 colon cancer," says Nottingham. "My wife and I are looking at each other like, 'What? What's going on?'"
Unbeknownst to them, members of the Nottingham family have a genetic variant that confers a high risk of colon cancer and other types of cancer. And in this, they're not alone.
Cancer risk can lurk in our genes. So why don't more people get tested?
Posted from npr.org
Medical
Health
Cancer
Posted 10 mo ago
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PO1 William "Chip" Nagel
..."Health insurance providers have loosened their restrictions on whom they will cover for this kind of testing, which means more people than ever have access.
Nonetheless, "most people that should be getting the test are not," says Dr. Tuya Pal, a clinical geneticist at Vanderbilt University Medical Center.
It has been about three decades since the discovery of BRCA1 and BRCA2, she says, "and we still have only identified a fraction of the adult U.S. population that's at risk. A lot of people that are at risk remain unidentified."...
..."Health insurance providers have loosened their restrictions on whom they will cover for this kind of testing, which means more people than ever have access.
Nonetheless, "most people that should be getting the test are not," says Dr. Tuya Pal, a clinical geneticist at Vanderbilt University Medical Center.
It has been about three decades since the discovery of BRCA1 and BRCA2, she says, "and we still have only identified a fraction of the adult U.S. population that's at risk. A lot of people that are at risk remain unidentified."...
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