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The promise and pitfalls of gene testing for cancer risk

Knowing you have a genetic mutation that puts you at risk of ovarian cancer can be life-saving. But with complex decisions awaiting anyone who has a disease variant, many people are choosing not to be tested.
  1. Jyoti Madhusoodanan

    1. Jyoti Madhusoodanan is a science writer in Portland, Oregon.

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Cartoon of a woman peering through her fingers at a sample tube floating in front of her face

Illustration by Antoine Dore

Melissa Cook lay alone in the recovery room. It had taken about seven hours to surgically remove the growths that had been pressing on her bladder, and now her mouth felt parched. Still groggy and unable to open her eyes after anaesthesia, she felt a nurse swab her dry mouth with moistened gauze. Then she overheard someone saying: “We have a 39-year-old with a port.” Her stomach dropped.

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Nature 600, S50-S52 (2021)

doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-021-03720-y

This article is part of Nature Outlook: Ovarian cancer, an editorially independent supplement produced with the financial support of third parties. About this content.

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