What are you made of? I'm about to find out

A few weeks ago I received a free personal DNA test from Pathway Genomics to review. This is not something that I ever thought that I would take part in but I have some questions and once it was presented to me, it seemed like the best way to get my questions answered.

You know when you go to the doctor and they ask you for your family history? There is a small portion of my family history that I'm not that familiar with. So questions like "Do you have a family history of breast cancer?" usually get answered "no" by me, because there is no box to check that says "I don't really know for sure".

Then there are the things that I do know about. We do have a family history of heart disease, high blood pressure, arthritis, liver disease, etc. But do I need to be concerned about these things? I just turned forty. And up to this point I hadn't been all that concerned. But now that I'm getting older I need to take better care of myself. Is there something that I may need to focus on more than something else? Who knows. Most of the time it's a crap shoot. You do the best you can and hope that you are concentrating on the right areas.

But a test like a personal DNA can give you these answers. So when they asked me try it, I said sure.

I did have reservations. What if the test told me I had the gene for breast cancer (or some other kind of cancer)? What if the test told me all kinds of things that were really scary? After doing some research on it, I found out that the test gives you information. It's what you do with that information that really affects the outcome. Just because you have the gene for a certain kind of cancer doesn't mean you will get that cancer. But at least you are armed with that knowledge (and you can arm your physician with that knowledge) to help with better early detection and prevention. The unknown is scarier than the known.

Pathway Genomics sent me the testing kit. It's a little vial that you "spit" in (I know, not very lady like but not invasive either), a sheet with your information and testing kit number and prepaid Fed Ex return mailer. You activate your kit on line and answer a series of questions (I think it took me about 15-20 minutes to do that). Follow the directions for "spitting" in the vial. Seal up the Fed Ex envelope and drop it in the nearest Fed Ex box. It takes about 8 weeks for the results to come back.

The price of the test is not cheap and it's not something usually covered by insurance so this is not a "fun" thing to do in your spare time. It's something that is done by people who are serious about knowing any genetic health risks they may have. You can find out more about pricing for each service offered here. I will say however, that after researching other types of genetic testing, this one was one of the most affordable that I had found. A full list of conditions that can be tested for can be found here.

Another service offered by Pathway Genomics and their genetic testing is Ancestory Testing. This has a price tag on it also, but to me, this would be a fun and interesting test to take. The testing "provide both maternal and paternal ancestry information, so you can learn where your ancestors originated and view their migration patterns across the continents over time. We will also provide you with information about your ethnic makeup, telling you the different cultural backgrounds that are represented in your genetic profile".

My results are still out. My genes and my ancestors are still a mystery to me. But I'm interested to find out all the information that I can.

To learn more about genetic research go to National Human Genome Research Institute.