Am I My Genes?

Confronting Fate and Family Secrets in the Age of Genetic Testing

Nonfiction, Health & Well Being, Medical, Medical Science, Genetics, Reference, Ethics
Cover of the book Am I My Genes? by Robert L. Klitzman, M.D., Oxford University Press
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Robert L. Klitzman, M.D. ISBN: 9780190207670
Publisher: Oxford University Press Publication: March 1, 2012
Imprint: Oxford University Press Language: English
Author: Robert L. Klitzman, M.D.
ISBN: 9780190207670
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Publication: March 1, 2012
Imprint: Oxford University Press
Language: English

In the fifty years since DNA was discovered, we have seen extraordinary advances. For example, genetic testing has rapidly improved the diagnosis and treatment of diseases such as Huntington's, cystic fibrosis, breast cancer, and Alzheimer's. But with this new knowledge comes difficult decisions for countless people, who wrestle with fear about whether to get tested, and if so, what to do with the results. Am I My Genes? shows how real individuals have confronted these issues in their daily lives. Robert L. Klitzman interviewed 64 people who faced Huntington's Disease, breast and ovarian cancer, or Alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency. The book describes--often in the person's own words--how each has wrestled with the vast implications that genetics has for their lives and their families. Klitzman shows how these men and women struggle to make sense of their predicament and its causes. They confront a series of quandaries--whether to be tested; whether to disclose their genetic risks to parents, siblings, spouses, offspring, friends, doctors, insurers, employers, and schools; how to view and understand themselves and their genetics; what treatments, if any, to pursue; whether to have children, adopt, screen embryos, or abort; and whether to participate in genetic communities. In the face of these uncertainties, they have tried to understand these tests and probabilities, avoid fatalism, anxiety, despair, and discrimination, and find hope, meaning, and a sense of wholeness. Forced to wander through a wilderness of shifting sands, they chart paths that many others may eventually follow. Klitzman captures here the voices of pioneers, some of the first to encounter the personal dilemmas introduced by modern genetics. Am I My Genes? is an invaluable account of their experience, one that will become all the more common in the coming years. "An extraordinary exploration...probing the many roles and implications of genetics in our lives today.... Filled with astonishing insights, this riveting book is vital reading for us all." --Paula Zahn "Klitzman lucidly discusses the moral and psychological complexities that come in the wake of genetic testing.... An important book for anyone who has the genes for pathology, which is all of us, and I recommend it highly." --Kay Redfield Jamison, author of An Unquiet Mind "An illuminating voyage through the medical, familial and existential quandaries faced by those of us at genetic risk." --Thomas H. Murray, President and CEO, The Hastings Center

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

In the fifty years since DNA was discovered, we have seen extraordinary advances. For example, genetic testing has rapidly improved the diagnosis and treatment of diseases such as Huntington's, cystic fibrosis, breast cancer, and Alzheimer's. But with this new knowledge comes difficult decisions for countless people, who wrestle with fear about whether to get tested, and if so, what to do with the results. Am I My Genes? shows how real individuals have confronted these issues in their daily lives. Robert L. Klitzman interviewed 64 people who faced Huntington's Disease, breast and ovarian cancer, or Alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency. The book describes--often in the person's own words--how each has wrestled with the vast implications that genetics has for their lives and their families. Klitzman shows how these men and women struggle to make sense of their predicament and its causes. They confront a series of quandaries--whether to be tested; whether to disclose their genetic risks to parents, siblings, spouses, offspring, friends, doctors, insurers, employers, and schools; how to view and understand themselves and their genetics; what treatments, if any, to pursue; whether to have children, adopt, screen embryos, or abort; and whether to participate in genetic communities. In the face of these uncertainties, they have tried to understand these tests and probabilities, avoid fatalism, anxiety, despair, and discrimination, and find hope, meaning, and a sense of wholeness. Forced to wander through a wilderness of shifting sands, they chart paths that many others may eventually follow. Klitzman captures here the voices of pioneers, some of the first to encounter the personal dilemmas introduced by modern genetics. Am I My Genes? is an invaluable account of their experience, one that will become all the more common in the coming years. "An extraordinary exploration...probing the many roles and implications of genetics in our lives today.... Filled with astonishing insights, this riveting book is vital reading for us all." --Paula Zahn "Klitzman lucidly discusses the moral and psychological complexities that come in the wake of genetic testing.... An important book for anyone who has the genes for pathology, which is all of us, and I recommend it highly." --Kay Redfield Jamison, author of An Unquiet Mind "An illuminating voyage through the medical, familial and existential quandaries faced by those of us at genetic risk." --Thomas H. Murray, President and CEO, The Hastings Center

More books from Oxford University Press

Cover of the book Kant's Human Being by Robert L. Klitzman, M.D.
Cover of the book The Mystical Life of Franz Kafka by Robert L. Klitzman, M.D.
Cover of the book Shi`i Islam: Oxford Bibliographies Online Research Guide by Robert L. Klitzman, M.D.
Cover of the book Armies without Nations by Robert L. Klitzman, M.D.
Cover of the book The Oxford Handbook of International Antitrust Economics, Volume 1 by Robert L. Klitzman, M.D.
Cover of the book Starman - With Audio Starter Level Oxford Bookworms Library by Robert L. Klitzman, M.D.
Cover of the book Policing Public Opinion in the French Revolution by Robert L. Klitzman, M.D.
Cover of the book The History of the Buddha's Relic Shrine by Robert L. Klitzman, M.D.
Cover of the book Geriatric Palliative Care by Robert L. Klitzman, M.D.
Cover of the book Inalienable Rights by Robert L. Klitzman, M.D.
Cover of the book Desiring the Good by Robert L. Klitzman, M.D.
Cover of the book Random Families by Robert L. Klitzman, M.D.
Cover of the book Research with Diverse Groups by Robert L. Klitzman, M.D.
Cover of the book Louisiana Hayride by Robert L. Klitzman, M.D.
Cover of the book Golden Harvest:Events at the Periphery of the Holocaust by Robert L. Klitzman, M.D.
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy