Taking a genetic test is your choice and you should never feel pressured into taking it by health professionals. It is also a long process which can involve several sessions with a genetic professional, several weeks, in some cases months waiting for the results from the laboratory. You may be given information that is very new to you and quite complicated and it can be difficult to take it all in. It’s a good idea to take a support person, a friend, a partner with you to your appointment. You may want to ask them to take news during the appointments. It is important you that you have the chance to discuss genetic testing with a transgenic health professional – they will be able to provide you with all the information you need in order to make the decision that is right to you, they will also be able to help you discuss any emotional issues that may arise, answer any questions or concerns you may have. We should remember that there is no going back after you receive your test results, there is no way to unknow your result. It is important therefore to try and think through some of the main issues before making a decision as some of these are discussed and it is important however that to point all the situations in that when we give some consultation to our patients so, it is important, for example, when they ask me if there is a way of treating or preventing – in this case this it is important to find out whether there is a treatment available or way or reducing the risk of developing the condition if you were found to have the faulty gene, for example, knowing there is a treatment available may help in your decision making. For some disorders there is no cure, the condition can be managed with drugs, some peacemakers, in some cases surgery. For other conditions there is no treatment available to slow the progress of the disease however, some of the symptoms can sometimes be partially managed. The benefit of knowing you have the faulty gene maybe more of an emotional benefit or it may help with planning for the future predictive test results, carry a degree of uncertainty even if there is light having the faulty gene usually means that there is almost certain that you will go on to develop the condition however, it will still be difficult predict when the condition will develop, how severe it will be or how fast the symptoms will progress. It is important to remember that in scientific terms a positive result test means you do carry the faulty gene and the negative things test means that you do not carry the faulty gene. Most often the results will be one or the other but sometimes there is a third possibility to agree only or an intermediate test result this means that even though a chance in the game is found it is difficult to know whether in this case it will be the condition. This is usually very rare, can be very frustrating and some kind of frustrating result to receive so, it is important to discuss all these possible outcomes with a genetic specialist when you decide what you want to take the test.
