Predisposition

'They can be voracious,’ said the chief surgeon. ‘And if there is a predisposition on the part of the body, even more so.’ There it was – a certain predisposition, a willingness of the body to generate cancer. The genetic factor. Like alcohol. The body is born with a genetically conceived desire for alcohol, or a genetically conceived tendency of the cells to corrupt.

I read this in a medical magazine:

“Small proportion of cancers develop due to inherited mutations of tumour-suppressor genes, DNA repair genes, and a few recessive genes. Several genes that predispose humans to cancer have been cloned and are used for predictive genetic testing. Interventions such as total colectomy or mastectomy is used for prevention of inherited cancers. However, genetic screening and prophylactic treatments have profound psychosocial effects on patients and families. The first draft of the human genome project has not revealed new genes responsible for common cancers. There is no single technology at present to detect susceptibly due to different genomic abnormalities such as large deletions, rearrangements, base substitutions, small insertions and deletions, amplification, and epigenetic changes like DNA methylation. More laboratory, clinical and ethical research is needed to understand the true extent of genetic predisposition to cancer. We also need to study the social implications of genetic screening in our communities with diverse customs and prejudices so that we can provide socially acceptable treatment strategies.”

Am I predisposed? I could believe it. My father died of cancer – but I know so little about his side of the family. Did previous generations of his family register any cancer? There is no history of cancer on my mother’s side. Her family is known to live forever. My grandfather on my mother’s side lived so long nobody knew how old he was when he died.

It is a disquieting thought - that the body is conceived with the wherewithal to destroy itself. It only needs the right coincidence of effects in conjunction with time to put the process of destruction in gear. The idea of a gene waiting patiently for the body chemistry to compound itself in just the right proportion and then pounce is even alarming – alarming in the way only the unknown can provoke unease.