Meghan was two when her father was diagnosed with Huntington's. At the time, she didn't understand what that was. In 2006, in College, while pouring herself some lemonade, she spilled the pitcher and knocked her glass on the floor. When her mother was helping her clean up the mess, Meghan told her she thought she had Huntington's disease. Her mother has seen the symptoms for a few years, and she finally told her that she knew. Then she went to get her test done (Caring Voice Coalition). "Adolescents should be encouraged to defer predictive or predispositional testing for adult-onset conditions until adulthood because of the complexity of the potential impact of the information at formative life stages." (ASHG). Although many parents may agree,
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This process helps people learn more about Huntington's disease. The procedure for testing for Huntington's disease begins with Pre-testing counseling. After they go through a neurologist examination, and then to the psychological or the psychiatric interview. People have to give blood in order to get the test done, but they have to give it in a clinic or a lab (Liou). If a family member or parents had Huntington's disease the person has a 50% chance of getting Huntington's disease. With a person with no family history of Huntington's, they can have a 1-3 % chance of actually having Huntington's disease. The time before getting the results is about 2 weeks. The cost for the test depends on the genetic counselor (Huntington's …show more content…
Since Huntington's disease is a dominant trait, the only way for it to have problems is when the person that is being tested has no family history of Huntington's. Sometimes, but not very often, a person with a repeat of CAG on chromosome four, which is a mutation of amino acids, of a normal person has signs of Huntington's disease. If that happens, then there is further medical investigation (Bennett).
Parents should not take the advice of ASHG when it comes to testing for Huntington's disease. The children may not be showing signs of the disease yet, but it is necessary for them to know. This is due to the fact that Huntington's disease has many symptoms that get worse as the person ages. Huntington's disease can stop a person from working, and can cause them to lose money, and then can't get medical help. It can also have the children make choices to get married or not to get married, and to have kids or not, which can save a heartbreak for another loved
This process helps people learn more about Huntington's disease. The procedure for testing for Huntington's disease begins with Pre-testing counseling. After they go through a neurologist examination, and then to the psychological or the psychiatric interview. People have to give blood in order to get the test done, but they have to give it in a clinic or a lab (Liou). If a family member or parents had Huntington's disease the person has a 50% chance of getting Huntington's disease. With a person with no family history of Huntington's, they can have a 1-3 % chance of actually having Huntington's disease. The time before getting the results is about 2 weeks. The cost for the test depends on the genetic counselor (Huntington's …show more content…
Since Huntington's disease is a dominant trait, the only way for it to have problems is when the person that is being tested has no family history of Huntington's. Sometimes, but not very often, a person with a repeat of CAG on chromosome four, which is a mutation of amino acids, of a normal person has signs of Huntington's disease. If that happens, then there is further medical investigation (Bennett).
Parents should not take the advice of ASHG when it comes to testing for Huntington's disease. The children may not be showing signs of the disease yet, but it is necessary for them to know. This is due to the fact that Huntington's disease has many symptoms that get worse as the person ages. Huntington's disease can stop a person from working, and can cause them to lose money, and then can't get medical help. It can also have the children make choices to get married or not to get married, and to have kids or not, which can save a heartbreak for another loved