It’s My Genes, Isn’t It?

How To Avoid Being Scared Half to Death By Genetic Testing

One reason our genes scare us is that they might be hatching a plan to kill us. For some reason, though, when I had my genes tested I thought as much about it as I did of getting a flu shot. My gynecologist had recommended it, after all. With two pulmonary emboli in my dad’s medical history and a possibly blood-clot-related miscarriage in my sister’s background, I was a natural candidate to be tested for a similar propensity for blood clots. So I offered my vein.

A few weeks later, I …