Poorly written and misleading information about genetic illnesses is the norm!! - Page 1

Bad information is worse than no information at all as the Fox News story below is a testament to. A poorly written with few facts and less actual validity than most articles explaining genetics and illnesses .. Lynch Syndrome is the supposed subject but the science and discussion is all smoke and mirrors.  Be careful when attributing illnesses to genetic causes especially ones which are poorly understood such as Lynch Syndrome in humans .. The current fashion is to suppose that all diseases have a genetic basis and leads to many useless tests and treatments.  Lynch syndrome is not well understood and the testing methods are poor.  Do a lot of research before basing your own health decisions or those of your pets on genetic tests which have a low probability of actually predicting disease.  The tests mentioned in the Fox News Story is great at predicting cancer after you already have it.

http://www.foxnews.com/health/2016/02/16/florida-family-mourns-loss-third-child-to-inherited-syndrome.html

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hereditary_nonpolyposis_colorectal_cancer

Wow. Who goes ahead with having five children knowing their offspring have a fifty fifty chance of inheriting a devastating and deadly genetic condition? I certainly wouldn't be putting the blame on FOX news for this one.

Actually the symptoms and outcomes described in the Fox News "story" are not typical or representative of Lynch syndrome and indicate the likely involvement of another or several other syndromes. Lynch Syndrome involves 5 genes (at least) and is complicated. About the only thing Fox News got correct is that Lynch Syndrome is autosomal dominant with incomplete penetrance ( ie autosomal dominant most of the time ). Certainly the health problems this family has experienced are tragic but Lynch Syndrome alone does not explain them. Lynch Syndrome is similar to the BRCA mutation but more complicated and more difficult to diagnose and test for. Even geneticist can not agree on the diagnostic and family tree history required to diagnose Lynch Syndrome. Don't get your health advice from Fox News!!