According to the American Cancer Society's "Cancer Facts & Figures 2017”, an estimated 600,920 people are expected to die from cancer in the United States this year. That's one person every 52 seconds. It is almost unfathomable that every 52 seconds a person dies of cancer. That shows just how great of a problem cancer really is. Though scientists have yet to find a cure for cancer, there are many different options to help prevent and treat it. For example, having routine cancer screenings. This is a topic that is extremely controversial. One one side of the debate, people say that routine cancer screenings lead to overtreatment and the treatment of problems that never would have caused any damage in the first place, while the other side says …show more content…
While some people who get genetically tested find that they have a greater chance to get cancer and go to extremes like Angelina Jolie and get those parts of their body removed, or think that they are going to die because they have a greater chance, receiving genetic testing give many people peace and then their doctors can be on alert for possible signs of cancer. First, breast cancer can be caused by genetic factors and if there is a history of breast cancer in a woman's family, then they will be more aware that they could potentially have it. An article titled “A Risk-Based Mammogram Schedule” in the Los Angeles Times claims, “ It concludes that a woman's breast density should influence the frequency with which she is screened for breast cancer, in addition to such long-recognized breast cancer risk factors as age, ethnicity, personal history of abnormal breast findings and a family history of breast cancer” (Healy). For those who have a family history of breast cancer, receiving genetic testing can help those women know if they have a greater risk of getting it. If they do, then doctors can be on the lookout for potential signs related to breast cancer and catch it earlier in stage zero rather than stage four. Another piece of evidence to support this is that with genetic testing, doctors have been able to “knock back” the death rates. According to an article in the Miami Herald, “Couple this with an increased awareness that such cancers can be genetic and it's little surprise that doctors have managed to knock back death rates” (Prater). As far as colon cancer goes, doctors have found that it can be genetically transmitted. More lives are being saved because genetic testing is providing answers for doctors. Also, receiving genetic testing can give patients comfort and help them to be at peace. As stated in the article “A Better
The view over genetic testing starts with establishing necessary definitions and discussing its purpose in our world. To start off, the human body is a complex multicellular system. Every cell in the body is comprised of the same DNA (with some exceptions), which stores our genes. These genes are the set of instructions that encode the proteins necessary to create and maintain the human body. The issue is that some genes can undergo a variety of mutations during development that cause an array of complications or disease. Gene therapy can modify the designated abnormal genes to reach normalcy, while genetic engineering focuses on enhancement and surpassing what is normal. However, the goal of genetic testing is to identify the abnormalities
Basically the article claims that everyone is impacted by genetic testing, either positively or negatively. There are many potential benefits which can arise as a result of genetic testing such as individuals that are identified as carrying potentially harmful genetic alterations can receive regular
When used in healthcare, genetic testing can show the genetic cause of a disease, confirm a suspected diagnosis of an illness, predict future illnesses, and predict responses to
As you can see genetic testing is very important and can affect a child's and parents lives for the better and the worst. Children all over the world have serious genetic diseases that affect their life on a daily. Some of these diseases are Achondroplasia, Down syndrome, and Turner's syndrome. Many believe genetic testing is a good way to test for these genetic conditions before the child is even born, but others think that it can harm the baby very badly and even cause a miscarriage, so they choose not to do this kind of testing. Knowing about the most serious genetic diseases is very important for expecting parents to be informed as well as being
Another big benefit of testing is the ability to know in advance the health of a baby. It is no longer necessary for parents to be to have to worry about the health of their child. The technology is there to know in advance. Some people have major health problems in their family. This testing could make it possible for them to give birth to healthy long living children. The whole point of prenatal genetic testing is to improve life through good health. There are enough things
When scientists are going to identify the type of cancer they need to do a genetic screening. Genetic screening is the process of going through the patient's genome to find the type of cancer. This reveals everything about the patient including other types of diseases they might have. People might feel that this lets the scientists know too much about the patient. The flaw with their totally legit argument is that before someone gets their genome sequenced, they must sign a waiver which gives the scientists consent and makes sure the patient understands what is happening.
Embryonic screening allows for the elimination of inherited diseases before birth or a treatment plan before birth. In breast cancer patients, genetic testing allows the physician to know if chemotherapy is necessary, which would expand treatment options. Genetic testing could eliminate years of experimental testing and medication use used to diagnose a new disease. Overall, genetic testing is in alignment with the core medical philosophy that early prevention leads to early treatment, which leads to an overall better outcome for the patient.
How would one finish one’s life if he or she were only given six months to live? Brittany Maynard and Kara Tippetts answered this question in two very different ways. Both were too young to face death, but they could not escape their realities. Plagued by terminal cancer, they would suffer in a considerable amount of pain, ultimately ending in death. Maynard tried to lighten her experience by ending her life with medication to escape the full reality. News broadcasts and magazines highly publicized Maynard’s decision. On the other hand, Tippetts chose to live until her life naturally ended. However, her story was documented on the radio; in a book, The Hardest Peace; and her blog, “Mundane Faithfulness.” Although Maynard and Tippetts both suffered terminal cancer, they dealt with their circumstances, convictions, and choices differently.
Genetic testing, can affect a person’s life in many ways. Genetic testing is a type of medical testing that identifies changes that occur in chromosomes, proteins, and genes. These changes that occur can be associated, and often are associated with inherited
Cancer is figured to be the second leading causes of morbidity and mortality worldwide. With approximately 14 million new cases and 8.2 million cancer related deaths in 2012, alone .Why are so many people stuck suffering with this deadly disease? Millions of dollars have been invested into cancer research, yet there is no cure. Are these pharmaceutical companies focus on finding a cure for cancer or concentrating on elongated treatments in order to lengthen their pockets? We must first understand that cancer is big business earning huge profits. Nonetheless, the cancer industry is spending virtually zilch of its multi-billion dollar resources on effective prevention strategies, like dietary guidelines, exercise, natural remedies and herbs proven to cure cancer. Instead, it pours its money into treating cancer, not preventing or allaying it.
cancer. The use of film mammography can be very hard to recognize breast cancer in
“One out of every four deaths in the U.S. is from cancer. About 1.2 million new cancer cases are diagnosed in the U.S. annually and about 564,000 Americans will die of it each year-- more than 1,500 people per day” (GrowthHouse). The real question is, what causes cancer? Is it all genetic or do things that we use in our everyday lives cause cancer? There are so many different ideas of what actually causes cancer. There has been a great deal of research in labs to see what increases the risk of someone getting diagnosed with cancer. Research has shown that the effects of chemicals in laundry detergent, sunscreen, hair dye and alcohol are possible causes of cancer.
Cancer. We all know someone who has suffered from it or has passed away because of it. Cancer now affects one in every three people, and is the second highest cause of death in the United States. For decades, the medical community has been on the hunt for a cure for cancer, and have been subjected to intense ridicule from the public because of a lack of progression toward a possible cure. In recent years, many scientists, doctors, researchers, and the general public have come to believe that the cure for cancer is being suppressed because of this lack of progress. Those who say it is suppressed claim that the drugs used to treat cancer actually cause cancer, making a patient sicker and sicker. As a result, the patients are forced to spend
I think that everybody should do a genetic test at a very early age in order to know what is going on with their genes. Even if a genetic test is positive, a genetic counselor, doctor, or other health care professional trained in genetics can help an individual or family understand their test results. These professionals can also help explain the incidental findings that a test may yield, such as a genetic risk factor for a disease that is unrelated to the reason for administering the test, so they can clarify the implications of test results for other family members. Doing a genetic test is crucial because on an expanded panel, certain cancer can be entirely reversed with an early intervention like dietary
This would mean that this testing would be more affordable for the commoner. Once testing has been completed and data interpreted, someone will know if they are a carrier for a genetic disorder. If it turns out that they are, instead of waiting for symptoms to arise, genetic treatment of the disease can be done to save the person’s life before it is even in jeopardy. This could prove to be very helpful. People spend thousands of dollars on treatments for a genetic disorder, and the treatments do not even fully rid the patient of the disease. The patient will have to take the medication for the rest of their life to calm the symptoms of that disease. With the advancement of gene therapy, a patient could receive a minimal number of treatments which will not just calm the symptoms but rid the patient of their genetic disorder completely. This, in the long run, could save the patient time, money, suffering, and ultimately it will save their life. This is only the beginning. As time passes, doctors will have the knowledge to save many more lives in the same manner.