Dad Got Cancer? Get Tested

While some med experts say OVER-testing for disease can cause more problems than solutions, others remind “too few with family histories of cancer are getting tested” so’s to guide life-saving treatment & prevention.

The WSJ article focused on cancers that run in the family & how the latest advancements in genetic testing can save lives. It notes how doctors are “recommending genetic tests to more cancer patients & their families” who may be in heightened risk of cancer due cancerous genes that might be passed from parents to children. That’s partly because “testing costs have dropped” while the “results are helping doctors choose newer targeted drugs & encourage relatives to confront their own cancer risk.” Said Mayo Clinic’s Dr. Jewel Samadder, “We can test you for dozens of genes at the same time & it’s going to influence your treatment.”

Unfortunately, “few patients or their relatives get tested”, despite the obvious potential pass-on risk that has always been suspected, even before genetic testing became more widely available. For one thing, “genetic counselors are scarce & some doctors [still] aren’t up-to-date on genetics training or guidance.” Then again, the experts say, after a cancer diagnosis of a relative, “inherited risk isn’t a priority for many patients.” Maybe it will in the near future so fewer cancer victims will belatedly say “woulda, coulda, shoulda.”

Davd Soul