Question

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In some cases, people who test positive for genetic testing can receive preventive treatments. For example, people who test positive for the breast cancer genes BRCA1 and BRCA2 can have a preventive mastectomy (breast removal surgery) before they develop the disease. In other cases, no preventive treatments are available, but frequent monitoring can help detect a disease earlier, when it’s more easily treated.

What ethical or professional concerns does a health-care professional need to address when he or she has a patient who wants to prematurely treat a genetic disease? Do you think genetic testing should be part of normal preventive healthcare? Why or why not?

Answer 1

[AI-generated answer — Bot GPT-4 Turbo]

Health-care professionals must address concerns such as informed consent, ensuring patients fully understand the implications, risks, and benefits of preventive treatments. They also need to consider the psychological impact of knowing one's genetic risks and the potential for discrimination or stigmatization based on genetic information. Balancing the desire for preventive action with the evidence for its effectiveness and the potential for overtreatment or unnecessary interventions is crucial. Regarding whether genetic testing should be part of normal preventive healthcare, it can be argued that it should when it enables actionable interventions that significantly reduce risk, but it should be approached with caution to avoid unnecessary anxiety and interventions for conditions with low predictability or limited treatment options.