Genetic mutations can trigger cancer. This simple statement is one of the most profound discoveries in medicine to date.
Some of the changes in our DNA are inherited from our parents. Others occur over the course of our lives and as a product of our lifestyle and environment. The interplay between our genes, our surroundings and our choices is complicated but at its core suggests we can guide ourselves to health by knowing our genetic information.
If that's the case, should we all race out and have our genes read? Oncologists and cancer geneticists gave us their thoughts on that question and what you can actually do with knowledge about your genes.
- Theodora Ross, oncologist, UT Southwestern Medical Center: To test or not to test, that is the question
- Jill Hagenkord, chief medical officer, Color: Preventive genomics has arrived
- Charis Eng, geneticist, Cleveland Clinic's Lerner Research Institute: Genetic knowledge is power
- Therese Bevers, prevention specialist, MD Anderson Cancer Center: What a cancer-risk assessment can tell you
- Sapna Syngal, geneticist, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute: Genetic testing doesn't always mean more certainty