Bioinformatics is a new field of study that combines biology and information technology.  It is used to analyze large databases of information, such as those resulting from the Human Genome Project.

• Breast cancer facts
  
  • 180,000 women a year are diagnosed with breast cancer.
  • 5%-10% of these are hereditary (caused by known breast cancer genes).
   
• Two breast cancer genes have been identified:  BRCA1 and BRCA2.
   
• The normal functioning of both genes is to inhibit the development of cancerous cells.  They are tumor suppressor genes.
  
  • A mutation in either gene raises a woman's lifetime chance of getting cancer from 12% to 85%.
    
    • A mutation in either gene also raises the risk for ovarian cancer.
    • A BRCA2 mutated gene raises the risk for breast cancer in males.
    • More than 600 different mutations that would increase the risk of breast cancer have been found in each gene.
    • There are many more mutations that have been found and are being studied. They may be harmless, and their connection to breast cancer is not yet known.
  • Every person has two copies of each gene.  A mutation in one copy will increase the risk of breast cancer.
    
    • A person with one good copy and one mutated copy has a 50-50 chance of passing the mutated gene on to his/her children.
    • Virtually all individuals with a mutation in BRCA1 or BRCA2 have inherited it from a parent.
   
• Benefits of genetic information to research
  
  • The Cancer Family Registry for Breast Cancer Studies has information and lab specimens from more than 5,000 families with breast and/or ovarian cancer.
    
    • The Registry makes this information available to researchers.
    • The Registry provides information that would take researchers years to gather by themselves.
    • The information in the Registry is key to a speedy solution to breast cancer. The greater the number of families that provide information to the Registry, the more we will know about detecting and treating breast cancer and the faster we will learn how to prevent it.

1.  Would Martha encourage Kathy to get the test?  Why or why not?
2.  What other advice would Martha give Kathy?
3.  How might these decisions affect Kathy cognitively, psychologically, emotionally?