I wonder if I was born with the crap genes. I have a brother and a sister who both are in pretty good health, our environment was both the same growing up, we ate the same food, lived in the same place and had the same parents. Yet, I have battled cancer for the past 13 years starting in my early 40’s.
Why is this when I haven’t done anything different. Have I collectively got the crap genes from the same set of parents? Afterall, I am the middle child. The ones who even Freud might had said, “the one with all the problems.”
Medical researchers have identified dozens of genes that seem to regulate immune system function. Examples include the genes that encode for the production of antibodies and those responsible for producing cytokines. Medical science is also identifying certain genes affecting the immune system and its longeivity that vary slightly from person to person. These genetic differences may help explain the variation in immune function and the speed of aging amoung individuals.
We are all born with a set of genes that we possess our entire life. Our genes come from our parents, so I guess we might have an idea of what might be in store. But the mixing of our parents genes means we won’t follow our parents genetic path step by step.
I have Lymphoma and neither of my parents have had it or anyone in my family I can find. Yet, with my mother she past on from breast cancer and that is found in her family along with lung cancer.
The Human Genome Project has mapped the entire human genome, identifying each gene humans possess. Yet that project identified only the 30,000 common human genes rather than the “slight” variations we all carry and it is this slight variation which makes us all unique.
There are those who take a proactive approach to health and knowing your genetic makeup can help you direct your preventive efforts. If your genes indicate a risk for heart disease, it is wise to control cholesterol and blood pressure.
The fact still remains that despite our genes, our own immune system will always remain the key to controlling our health and keep disease and illness at an arm’s distance.