• Ethical responsibilities
  
  • Genetic testing allows you to give useful information to other family members.
    
    • All blood relatives have similar genetic inheritances.
    • If you are tested, you may feel responsible to share the information with other family members.
    • Some family members may want information, some may not.
  • Genetic testing now provides data for future studies that may help future generations, such as Kathy's grandchildren.
   
• Ethical worries
  
  • There is no guarantee that test results will remain private.
   
• Psychological factors
  
  • How does the possibility that a person has breast cancer affect their outlook?
    
    • How do you see yourself?  How do you see the world?
  • Which aspects of your health do you regard with personal guilt?
   
• Questions, when a test for a disease is available:
  
  • Who should be screened?
  • At what age?
  • Who will explain the test beforehand?
  • Who will explain the results?
  • What about results of a test that is known to not be 100% accurate?
   
• Quote and comment from Dr. Francis Collins, Director of the National Center for Human Genome Research:
  
  • "It is not inconceivable that every woman in America may want to be screened for this [breast cancer] gene.  The economic, ethical, and counseling issues will be very daunting."
  • In the near future, physical examinations for 18 year olds will include DNA testing for diseases with genetic components, and that physicians in the interest of preventive medicine will make risk-based recommendations for a healthy life style.

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