“自己动手”基因测试引起消费者疑问

 

Do-It-Yourself Genetic² Tests Raises Questions for Consumers

“自己动手”基因测试引起消费者疑问

 

Alison (not her real name), is 32 years old and a magazine editor. She has a baby and is worried about her future. Breast cancer runs in Alison's family. Its most recent victim was her mother.

 

Alison: My cousin had cancer. My aunt had cancer. My grandmother had cancer. All the women on this side of my family have all had breast cancer and all have had it at a young age.

 

Alison suspected she had the gene¹ and was tested at a medical center. She tested positive. Working with a genetic counselor³ she decided⁴ to take a radical⁵ step for an otherwise healthy woman and had both of her breasts removed.

 

Alison: I know I made the right choice, and it is a sense of empowerment. I feel like I have control. When women get cancer or men get cancer, cancer controls their life, and I didn't want to wait for it to happen to me. I want to be proactive and get it before it got me.

 

6 months ago, a San Francisco-based company called DNA⁶ Direct began marketing⁷ a home breast cancer test. The company's Chief Executive Officer, Ryan Phelan, says the results don't end up in publicly-accessible medical histories. Rather they are private and controlled by the customer.

 

Ryan Phelan: There is a concern that you may be taking a genetic test that shows a predisposition to something like breast cancer. But you are not currently a breast cancer patient. So why should you be flagged by the health care industry as a breast cancer patient? You're not. You are just carrying a risk for breast cancer.

 

Alison, the woman with a family history of breast cancer, agrees that patients should not be discriminated⁹ against because they test positive for a certain gene. But she says at-home testing can bypass medical professionals at a critical time.

 

Alison: You are talking about cancer. You are talking about potentially your life here. It was so important to me in my experience to have a nurse who was sympathetic, who I could look in the eye and she could talk to me. When you are getting a response back that you have this genetic mutation¹⁰, that your possibilities of getting cancer are really high, you need that one-on-one, face-to-face connection.

 

Ryan Phelan of DNA Direct says her company does not leapfrog the medical system. Counselors¹¹ and doctors are available on-line and on the telephone to discuss detailed¹² customer reports. She says the tests are popular because the results can help customers make decisions that lead to lifestyle changes that can prevent disease.

 

Ryan Phelan: I think that the day is coming where testing is telling us more. What drugs are effective for us, what medications might be most useful, what risk do we need to be most concerned about. And I think that at-home (genetic) testing is the beginning of people beginning to utilize¹³ this information to integrate more (fully) their health care, everything from the decisions we make regarding diet and exercise, to (taking) vitamins, to seeing alternative providers for chiropractic care.

 

But proceed with caution says Bea Leopold, Executive Director of the National Society of Genetic Counselors. Her organization represents 21-hundred genetic counselors nationwide.

 

Bea Leopold: Are these people board-certified genetics professionals? Do you have all the information about what you are thinking you are getting tested for? And are you prepared if other information comes back, to deal with that in an open way?

 

And Bea Leopold adds that it is important to talk with someone who is qualified¹⁴ to interpret the genetic testing results, and who can provide informed advice on decisions that can affect your future health.

 

注释：

breast cancer 乳癌

empowerment [im5pauEmEnt] n. 能够

proactive [7prEu5Aktiv] adj. 前摄的，主动的

genetic [dVi5netik] adj. 遗传的

predisposition [pri:7dispE5ziFEn] n. 易患病的体质

flag [flA^] v. 标记

discriminate⁸ [dis5krimineit] v. 歧视

mutation [mju5teiFEn] n. 变化，转变

counselor [5kaunsElE] n. 顾问

utilize [ju:5tilaiz] vt. 利用

vitamin [5vaitEmin] n. 维他命，维生素

chiropractic [7kaiErE5prAktik] n. 脊椎指压治疗法

1 gene   

n.遗传因子，基因

参考例句：

• A single gene may have many effects.单一基因可能具有很多种效应。
• The targeting of gene therapy has been paid close attention.其中基因治疗的靶向性是值得密切关注的问题之一。

2 genetic   

adj.遗传的，遗传学的

参考例句：

• It's very difficult to treat genetic diseases.遗传性疾病治疗起来很困难。
• Each daughter cell can receive a full complement of the genetic information.每个子细胞可以收到遗传信息的一个完全补偿物。

3 counselor   

n.顾问，法律顾问

参考例句：

• The counselor gave us some disinterested advice.顾问给了我们一些无私的忠告。
• Chinese commercial counselor's office in foreign countries.中国驻国外商务参赞处。

4 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

5 radical   

n.激进份子，原子团，根号；adj.根本的，激进的，彻底的

参考例句：

• The patient got a radical cure in the hospital.病人在医院得到了根治。
• She is radical in her demands.她的要求十分偏激。

6 DNA   

(缩)deoxyribonucleic acid 脱氧核糖核酸

参考例句：

• DNA is stored in the nucleus of a cell.脱氧核糖核酸储存于细胞的细胞核里。
• Gene mutations are alterations in the DNA code.基因突变是指DNA密码的改变。

7 marketing   

n.行销，在市场的买卖，买东西

参考例句：

• They are developing marketing network.他们正在发展销售网络。
• He often goes marketing.他经常去市场做生意。

8 discriminate   

v.区别，辨别，区分；有区别地对待

参考例句：

• You must learn to discriminate between facts and opinions.你必须学会把事实和看法区分出来。
• They can discriminate hundreds of colours.他们能分辨上百种颜色。

9 discriminated   

分别，辨别，区分( discriminate的过去式和过去分词 )； 歧视，有差别地对待

参考例句：

• His great size discriminated him from his followers. 他的宽广身材使他不同于他的部下。
• Should be a person that has second liver virus discriminated against? 一个患有乙肝病毒的人是不是就应该被人歧视？

10 mutation   

n.变化，变异，转变

参考例句：

• People who have this mutation need less sleep than others.有这种突变的人需要的睡眠比其他人少。
• So far the discussion has centered entirely around mutation in the strict sense.到目前为止，严格来讲，讨论完全集中于围绕突变问题上。

11 counselors   

n.顾问( counselor的名词复数 )；律师；（使馆等的）参赞；（协助学生解决问题的）指导老师

参考例句：

• Counselors began an inquiry into industrial needs. 顾问们开始调查工业方面的需要。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• We have experienced counselors available day and night. ) 这里有经验的法律顾问全天候值班。） 来自超越目标英语 第4册

12 detailed   

adj.详细的，详尽的，极注意细节的，完全的

参考例句：

• He had made a detailed study of the terrain.他对地形作了缜密的研究。
• A detailed list of our publications is available on request.我们的出版物有一份详细的目录备索。

13 utilize   

vt.使用，利用

参考例句：

• The cook will utilize the leftover ham bone to make soup.厨师要用吃剩的猪腿骨做汤。
• You must utilize all available resources.你必须利用一切可以得到的资源。

14 qualified   

adj.合格的，有资格的，胜任的，有限制的

参考例句：

• He is qualified as a complete man of letters.他有资格当真正的文学家。
• We must note that we still lack qualified specialists.我们必须看到我们还缺乏有资质的专家。