Our customers have redefined prevention for us over the years. Hundreds of them have written to us, telling stories of how they’ve become the hero of their health journey. 



We are continually so inspired by their stories we recently launched a new campaign called The Hero Gene that celebrates some of those customers in their own words.



<h6 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-kenzie-and-shannon-s-brca1-story">Kenzie and Shannon’s BRCA1 Story</h6>



Kenzie and her mom, Shannon, are closer than the average mother and daughter, sharing a love of traveling together and their favorite foods. Kenzie knew there was Ashkenazi Jewish heritage in her background, but with no family history of breast cancer, she did not think there was a need to get screening for BRCA variants. Through 23andMe’s BRCA1/BRCA2 (Selected Variants) Genetic Health Risk Report,* Kenzie learned she had a BRCA1 variant that put her at a greatly increased risk of developing breast and ovarian cancer.



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1011" height="1024" src="http://35.88.189.111/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/image0-1-1011x1024.jpeg" alt="Photos of Shannon recovering from cancer treatment with Kenzie at her side. Image in upper left was taken on Kenzie's 16th birthday." class="wp-image-31684" srcset="https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/image0-1-1011x1024.jpeg 1011w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/image0-1-296x300.jpeg 296w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/image0-1-768x778.jpeg 768w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/image0-1-869x880.jpeg 869w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/image0-1-1165x1180.jpeg 1165w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/image0-1.jpeg 1170w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1011px) 100vw, 1011px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Photos of Shannon recovering from cancer treatment with Kenzie at her side. Image in upper left was taken on Kenzie&#8217;s 16th birthday.</figcaption></figure>



Women with one of these variants have a <a href="https://www.23andme.com/brca">45-85 percent chance</a> of developing breast cancer and up to a 46 percent chance of developing ovarian cancer by age 70. One of her first thoughts was, “Could my mom have cancer and not know it?” 



Kenzie immediately knew she had to call her mom.&nbsp;&nbsp;



“Mom, I have this gene, and I think you need to get tested.” 



Shannon made an appointment with her oncologist, where she shared the news about Kenzie’s report.  The oncologist referred her to a genetic counselor, who immediately set Shannon up for genetic testing. In addition, the genetic counselor suggested Kenzie talk to her doctor right away for follow-up testing.  After doing so, both were able to take steps to minimize their risks. While Kenzie is opting to go for a less aggressive route of frequent scans and discussing family planning options, Shannon (a cancer survivor) decided to go ahead with preventative surgeries to lower her risk of developing BRCA-associated cancers.  



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="683" height="1024" src="http://35.88.189.111/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/IMG_3604-683x1024.jpeg" alt="A phot of Kenzie and her mom Shannon." class="wp-image-31685" srcset="https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/IMG_3604-683x1024.jpeg 683w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/IMG_3604-200x300.jpeg 200w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/IMG_3604-768x1152.jpeg 768w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/IMG_3604-587x880.jpeg 587w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/IMG_3604-787x1180.jpeg 787w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/IMG_3604-scaled.jpeg 1707w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 683px) 100vw, 683px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Kenzie, left, with her mom Shannon.</figcaption></figure>



The experience has taught both women how important it is to educate themselves about their health risks, to be proactive about their well-being, and to advocate for themselves to ensure they get the care they need.&nbsp;



“Kenzie’s test and me being able to find out that I was BRCA positive was lifesaving,” said Shannon.&nbsp;



As they prepare to share another holiday together, closer than ever, Kenzie couldn’t help but beam when talking about Shannon, “I&#8217;m really proud of my mom, she&#8217;s taken her health into her hands. Her life is the most important thing to me. She wanted to show me that she will survive.”



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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bI6nxWiqpGE
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<h6 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-melissa-s-f5-story">Melissa’s F5 Story</h6>



Melissa developed symptoms of a pulmonary embolism (PE), a blood clot in the lung, after a cross-country flight from Washington to Boston for a nurses conference. As a nurse, Melissa knew her symptoms weren&#8217;t typical but knowing she had an increased likelihood to develop harmful blood clots based on a factor V Leiden variant found by her 23andMe Hereditary Thrombophilia Genetic Health Risk report* prompted her to go to the ER before taking a return flight home.



<figure class="wp-block-image aligncenter size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="698" height="931" src="http://35.88.189.111/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/Melissa-2.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-32365" srcset="https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/Melissa-2.jpg 698w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/Melissa-2-225x300.jpg 225w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/Melissa-2-660x880.jpg 660w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 698px) 100vw, 698px" /></figure>



Trusting her nurse’s instinct, she pushed to get evaluated a PE. 



“I am not typically … insistent, but I was really insistent on this. I am absolutely sure it&#8217;s going to happen again and I may not have another chance. And I wasn&#8217;t willing to take that chance again.” They confirmed via a blood test and CAT scan that she had developed a PE.



<figure class="wp-block-image aligncenter size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="698" height="931" src="http://35.88.189.111/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/Melissa-1.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-32364" srcset="https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/Melissa-1.jpg 698w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/Melissa-1-225x300.jpg 225w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/Melissa-1-660x880.jpg 660w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 698px) 100vw, 698px" /></figure>



She began taking a blood thinner right away so she could fly home. Melissa credits her knowledge of the gene with empowering her to take her health into her own hands, which means even more this time of year.  “My family is sacred to me. It truly is all that matters. I would not have been able to meet my new granddaughter. I truly believe I’m here because of 23andMe. Because I was aware of that gene, and my doctors were aware of that gene, that continues to save my life.”



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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-zLbFwbXH7c
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<h6 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-which-gene-could-empower-you">Which gene could empower you?</h6>



As we’ve heard from these and so many more customers, prevention doesn’t have to be a burden. In fact, it shouldn’t be a burden. Prevention is about advocating for yourself, and your health, so you can continue to live an incredible life for you, your family and friends. That starts with genetic insights that could lead to early detection. We hope you find your customer story. Your gene or genes that empower you, inspire you, help you and that could potentially save your life at the time you need the information most. #prevention



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<h6 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-note">Note</h6>



*The 23andMe PGS test uses qualitative genotyping to detect select clinically relevant variants in the genomic DNA of adults from saliva for the purpose of reporting and interpreting genetic health risks. It is not intended to diagnose any disease. Your ethnicity may affect the relevance of each report and how your genetic health risk results are interpreted. Each genetic health risk report describes if a person has variants associated with a higher risk of developing a disease, but does not describe a person’s overall risk of developing the disease. The test is&nbsp; not intended to tell you anything about your current state of health, or to be used to make medical decisions, including whether or not you should take a medication, how much of a medication you should take, or determine any treatment. 



<h6 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-warnings-amp-limitations">Warnings &amp; Limitations: </h6>



The 23andMe PGS Genetic Health Risk Report for BRCA1/BRCA2 (Selected Variants) is indicated for reporting of 44 variants in the BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes. The report describes if a person&#8217;s genetic result is associated with an increased risk of developing breast cancer and ovarian cancer and may be associated with an increased risk for prostate cancer, pancreatic cancer, and potentially other cancers. The variants included in this report do not represent the majority of the BRCA1/BRCA2 variants in people of most ethnicities. This report does not include variants in other genes linked to hereditary cancers and the absence of variants included in this report does not rule out the presence of other genetic variants that may impact cancer risk. This report is for over-the-counter use by adults over the age of 18, and provides genetic information to inform discussions with a healthcare professional. The PGS test is not a substitute for visits to a healthcare professional for recommended screenings or appropriate follow-up. Results should be confirmed by an independent genetic test prescribed by your own healthcare provider before taking any medical action. For important information and limitations regarding each genetic health risk report, visit 23andme.com/test-info.&nbsp;

23andMe Blog

23andMe Blog Team

Your Hero Gene

Sarah opened her 23andMe report and immediately understood that this was serious.



“I knew it was something I had to take action about right away, and that’s what I did,” she said.



<h6 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-on-a-whim">On a Whim</h6>



The Bay Area mother of two young children with a thriving career in tech, said she isn’t really sure what prompted her to buy a 23andMe kit for herself and her husband.



“I’m not an overly &#8216;woo woo&#8217; person, but I can’t explain it,” she said. “I knew about 23andMe, and that it was popular, but I can’t explain exactly why I felt so strongly about ordering it.”



<figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
<iframe loading="lazy" title="Sarah&#039;s 23andMe Story" width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/IckIRlh406U?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe>
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It’s lucky she did.



<h6 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-brca1-brca2-selected-variants-genetic-health-risk-report">BRCA1/BRCA2 (Selected Variants) Genetic Health Risk Report</h6>



Of course, Sarah was curious about what she’d learn from exploring her DNA, but she didn’t go into the experience looking for a specific insight. She just felt she needed to order it, so she did. The kits arrived in the mail and she and her husband sent off their samples to the lab. A couple of weeks later she got a message in the 23andMe app letting her know her reports were in.



She opted in to view her Health reports, went through a short tutorial then opened her BRCA1/BRCA2 (Selected Variants) Genetic Health Risk Report.*



Right away, Sarah saw the test detected a variant in the BRCA2 gene that put her at higher risk for breast and ovarian cancer. She was stunned. Cancer didn’t run in her family, or at least not that she knew. Her paternal grandparents, both Holocaust survivors, lived long, healthy lives. And she was both fit and healthy herself.



“I knew it wasn’t good,” Sarah said.



<h6 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-this-is-serious">This is Serious</h6>



We’re sharing Sarah’s story as part of Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Throughout the month of October we’ll be highlighting how 23andMe has helped flagged a risk for those who might not have otherwise learned that they carried a risk variant. Indeed, most people with a BRCA1 or BRCA2 risk variant don’t know they have one, according to a 2018 study by researchers at <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6324494/">Geisinger Health in Pennsylvania</a>.&nbsp;



Like many others, Sarah had no idea she had a risk variant until after she received her 23andMe report. But she’d opened her report just an hour before a birthday party in her honor, so she waited to process the newly received information. About a week later, at the end of an already scheduled annual physical with her general practitioner, she showed her doctor her 23andMe report.



“He said it was serious and told me he was referring me to the Hereditary Cancer Clinic at UCSF,” Sarah said.



<h6 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-taking-action">Taking Action</h6>



In quick succession, she saw a genetic counselor, was tested at the clinic to confirm that she did indeed carry the variant 23andMe detected, and began meeting with BRCA specialists. Their first recommendation was that she preventatively remove her fallopian tubes and ovaries to completely avoid future cancer risk to those organs. She acted fast, but after that first surgery she wasn’t yet ready for a preventative mastectomy, and instead elected to get a mammogram and MRI twice a year as part of a high risk breast cancer screening protocol, one that she wouldn’t have qualified for without her recent BRCA discovery given her cancer-free family history. But in November of 2022, about a year after first testing with 23andMe, her MRI came back abnormal. A biopsy showed that she had early-stage breast cancer in both breasts.



“I was shocked, but I went into action mode,” Sarah said.&nbsp;



<h6 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-knowledge-is-power">Knowledge is Power</h6>



Her doctors recommended she have a double mastectomy, and Sarah agreed and acted quickly. A month later she had surgery including the removal of lymph nodes on each side to test for the spread of any cancer cells outside her breast tissue. When the pathology on her removed breast tissue and nodes came back, Sarah received great news: her lymph nodes were clear and the cancer hadn’t spread. Her bilateral breast cancers had both been extremely small and caught incredibly early. As a result, Sarah didn’t need any post-surgical chemotherapy or radiation, and less than a year since her cancer diagnosis she is back to living her normal, vibrant life.



Sarah said that because of the size and type of cancers, its likely they wouldn’t have been discovered by a regular annual mammogram for many years.Thankfully, due to her high risk status as a BRCA carrier, she was able to get regular MRI’s which lead to early detection. Sarah believes that if she hadn&#8217;t&nbsp; gotten tested through 23andMe, she might not have discovered the cancers until many years later, and by then it may have been too late to successfully treat.



“I really believe 23andMe saved my life,” said Sarah. “If I never received that information I don’t know if I’d be sitting here in a couple of years…knowledge is power and whatever you learn you can act on … so empower yourself and take the test.”



23andMe’s BRCA1/BRCA2 (Selected Variants) Genetic Health Risk Report originally looked at three variants in those genes that are most common in people of Ashkenazi Jewish descent. In August, 23andMe received FDA authorization to add another 41 variants to its report.** Now the report looks at 44 variants. Many of these additional variants are most common in people with African American, Latino, or Asian ancestry. More than 20,000 23andMe customers have one of the variants that will be included in the updated report.



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="930" height="760" src="http://35.88.189.111/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/BRCA-2.0-Mobile.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-32247" srcset="https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/BRCA-2.0-Mobile.jpg 930w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/BRCA-2.0-Mobile-300x245.jpg 300w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/BRCA-2.0-Mobile-768x628.jpg 768w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/BRCA-2.0-Mobile-880x719.jpg 880w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 930px) 100vw, 930px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">23andMe recently added 41 additional variants to its BRCA1/BRCA2 (Selected Variants) report.</figcaption></figure>



<a href="https://www.23andme.com/dna-health-ancestry/">23andMe Health + Ancestry Service</a> customers tested on our latest genotyping chip have access to the expanded report.&nbsp;



Existing customers can view<a href="https://you.23andme.com/reports/ghr.brca_v2/"> their report here</a>. Not yet a customer? You can find out<a href="https://www.23andme.com/compare-dna-tests/"> all that 23andMe has to offer here</a>.



<hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity"/>



<h6 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-important-test-information">Important Test Information:</h6>



The 23andMe PGS test uses qualitative genotyping to detect select clinically relevant variants in the genomic DNA of adults from saliva for the purpose of reporting and interpreting genetic health risks, including the 23andMe PGS Genetic Health Risk Report for BRCA1/BRCA2 (Selected Variants). Your ethnicity may affect the relevance of each report and how your genetic health risk results are interpreted. The test is not intended to diagnose any disease and does not describe a person’s overall risk of developing any type of cancer. It is not intended to tell you anything about your current state of health, or to be used to make medical decisions, including whether or not you should take a medication, how much of a medication you should take, or determine any treatments. 



<h6 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-warnings-amp-limitations">Warnings &amp; Limitations: </h6>



The 23andMe PGS Genetic Health RIsk Report for BRCA1/BRCA2 (Selected Variants) is indicated for reporting of the 185delAG and 5382insC variants in the BRCA1 gene and the 6174delT variant in the BRCA2 gene. The report describes if a woman is at increased risk of developing breast and ovarian cancer, and if a man is at increased risk of developing breast cancer or may be at increased risk of developing prostate cancer.&nbsp; The three variants included in this report are most common in people of Ashkenazi Jewish descent and do not represent the majority of BRCA1/BRCA2 variants in the general population. This report does not include variants in other genes linked to hereditary cancers and the absence of variants included in this report does not rule out the presence of other genetic variants that may impact cancer risk. The PGS test is not a substitute for visits to a healthcare professional for recommended screenings or appropriate follow-up. Results should be confirmed in a clinical setting before taking any medical action.



<h6 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-important-test-information-for-updated-report">Important Test Information for Updated Report:</h6>



**The 23andMe PGS test uses qualitative genotyping to detect select clinically relevant variants in the genomic DNA of adults from saliva for the purpose of reporting and interpreting genetic health risks, including the 23andMe PGS Genetic Health Risk Report for BRCA1/BRCA2 (Selected Variants). Your ethnicity may affect the relevance of each report and how your genetic health risk results are interpreted. The test is not intended to diagnose any disease and does not describe a person&#8217;s overall risk of developing any type of cancer. It is not intended to tell you anything about your current state of health, or to be used to make medical decisions, including whether or not you should take a medication, how much of a medication you should take, or determine any treatments. 



<h6 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-warnings-amp-limitations-0">Warnings &amp; Limitations: </h6>



The 23andMe PGS Genetic Health Risk Report for BRCA1/BRCA2 (Selected Variants) is indicated for reporting of 44 variants in the BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes. The report describes if a person&#8217;s genetic result is associated with an increased risk of developing breast cancer and ovarian cancer and may be associated with an increased risk for prostate cancer, pancreatic cancer, and potentially other cancers. The variants included in this report do not represent the majority of the BRCA1/BRCA2 variants in people of most ethnicities. This report does not include variants in other genes linked to hereditary cancers and the absence of variants included in this report does not rule out the presence of other genetic variants that may impact cancer risk. This report is for over-the-counter use by adults over the age of 18, and provides genetic information to inform discussions with a healthcare professional. The PGS test is not a substitute for visits to a healthcare professional for recommended screenings or appropriate follow-up. Results should be confirmed by an independent genetic test prescribed by your own healthcare provider before taking any medical action.

A photo of Sara at home with her daughter.

Sarah’s 23andMe Report Leads to Preventative Action

Kayla Milligan has always wanted a brother or sister. As a little kid, she&#8217;d pester her parents.&nbsp;



About a year ago, the 24-year-old got what she wanted and a lot more — not one sibling but more than 70.



<h6 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-a-dna-surprise">A DNA Surprise</h6>



&#8220;It was a big surprise, but at the same time, it turned out to be really cool,&#8221; said Kayla. &#8220;So, there are 77 half siblings in total, so far. The craziest part is that so many of us get along.&#8221;



Kayla, it turned out, was donor-conceived. Her parents hadn&#8217;t told her and never intended to tell her. In the summer of 2022, Kayla used 23andMe to learn about her ancestry. Her dad had said the family had some Dutch roots, and she was curious.&nbsp;



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="761" height="1024" src="http://35.88.189.111/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/Kayla-761x1024.jpeg" alt="A photo of Kayla" class="wp-image-32151" srcset="https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/Kayla-761x1024.jpeg 761w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/Kayla-223x300.jpeg 223w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/Kayla-768x1033.jpeg 768w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/Kayla-654x880.jpeg 654w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/Kayla-877x1180.jpeg 877w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/Kayla-scaled.jpeg 1903w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 761px) 100vw, 761px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Kayla used 23andMe to learn about her ancestry and discovered she was donor conceived and had dozens of half siblings.</figcaption></figure>



When Kayla got her reports, she looked at her ancestry, but also, after opting into the <a href="https://www.23andme.com/dna-ancestry/">DNA Relatives feature</a>, she looked at who she shared DNA with. She matched with about two dozen individuals, none of whom she recognized.



DNA Relatives predicted that these matches were half-siblings. She also matched with someone predicted to be her biological father, a man by the name of Willis, who is not her father. 



Her story is not too uncommon as <a href="https://blog.23andme.com/articles/29-siblings-and-counting">more and more people who were donor conceived</a>, use genetic testing to learn more about themselves including potential health information that they might not learn otherwise.



<h6 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-donor-conceived">Donor Conceived</h6>



When she saw this, her first thought was that it was a mix-up. But after talking to her mom, she learned the predicted relationship was correct. The news didn&#8217;t so much change her feelings of love toward her parents but changed how she looked at herself. Although her mom had kept this a secret for all these years, Kayla remembered a few things her mom had said over the years, alluding to the difficulty of getting pregnant.&nbsp;



&#8220;My mom had told me multiple times that I was almost a &#8216;petri dish baby,'&#8221; Kayla said.&nbsp;



But she&#8217;d never been told that her mom and dad, desperate to have a child, had turned to a clinic.



&#8220;I don&#8217;t know, but I think back in the day, there was a stigma about using a donor,&#8221; Kayla said.



Although she&#8217;s learned that he is not biologically related to her, how she sees her dad hasn&#8217;t changed.



&#8220;He&#8217;s still my dad,&#8221; she said.



<h6 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-shared-dna-and-shared-traits">Shared DNA and Shared Traits</h6>



After talking to her parents, Kayla reached out to her newfound siblings. Each had been on their journey of discovery. One of them created a spreadsheet to keep track of each new brother and sister. As new siblings discover the connection, they&#8217;re added to the list. In talking to her siblings, Kayla learned that it wasn&#8217;t just the 20 half-siblings she found using 23andMe but that she had at least 77. The siblings have a chat group for updates and news. With each new sibling, more information is added to the spreadsheet: names, ages, and contact information. They&#8217;ve also added details about allergies and personality and important health information. It is vital for those trying to correct their own family health history.&nbsp;



Her siblings range in age from about 16 to 29 years old, but the donor also has two kids with his wife, who are 8 and 11.



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1024" height="768" src="http://35.88.189.111/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/Kayla-and-her-half-siblings-Nashville-1024x768.jpeg" alt="A photo of Kayla and about 16 of her half siblings when they met in Nashville." class="wp-image-32152" srcset="https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/Kayla-and-her-half-siblings-Nashville-1024x768.jpeg 1024w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/Kayla-and-her-half-siblings-Nashville-300x225.jpeg 300w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/Kayla-and-her-half-siblings-Nashville-768x576.jpeg 768w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/Kayla-and-her-half-siblings-Nashville-880x660.jpeg 880w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/Kayla-and-her-half-siblings-Nashville-1180x885.jpeg 1180w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/Kayla-and-her-half-siblings-Nashville.jpeg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Kayla meeting some of her half siblings in Nashville. She is in the front row in the red dress.</figcaption></figure>



This past July, Kayla went to Nashville, where many of her siblings gathered so they could meet in person. Several siblings live in the Northeast, closer to where she calls home. Kayla has become particularly close with a half-sister who lives in Toronto and is drawn to several other siblings she&#8217;s met.



Coming together in Nashville also allowed Kayla to see many people with whom she shares the same cheekbones, blue eyes, long arms, and &#8220;free-spirited open mindedness.&#8221;



&#8220;It was very crazy to see everyone together like that,&#8221; she said of the meeting in Nashville. &#8220;You&#8217;re seeing all these people who don&#8217;t just look like you, but who share the same expressions, mannerisms, or ways of speaking or with similar personalities. It&#8217;s shocking. I mean the power of genetics over the environment to shape us.&#8221;



<h6 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-birth-father">Birth Father</h6>



Along with getting to know several of her brothers and sisters, she also learned a bit more about her birth father. When she first saw a photo of him and the physical resemblance, she said there was no question that he was her biological father.&nbsp;



Kalya learned that as a college and graduate school student on the West Coast and East Coast, he&#8217;d donated to different sperm banks. Now a philosophy professor at a college in California, he has been open to meeting the donor kids who have contacted him, even having them over to dinner to meet his family.&nbsp;



&#8220;He won&#8217;t force a relationship with anyone, but if a sibling reaches out to him personally, he will make an effort to be part of their lives, too,&#8221; Kayla said.



Although he never expected to sire so many kids or that they would end up contacting him, he has tried to share information about himself and his family, particularly his health history.&nbsp;



That was important for Kayla; she was able to learn about the conditions in his family. But for her, it&#8217;s been the connections to her siblings that have been the most profound. Seeing others with an uncanny resemblance to her, who shared so much genetically but were strangers, was jarring. The experience has also required difficult conversations, and it has sometimes been challenging.



&#8220;My life will never be the same after this experience, in the best way, and it&#8217;s all thanks to this little test,&#8221; Kayla said. &#8220;I absolutely prefer the truth over anything falsified. Ultimately, I love learning more about myself and discovering new things, progressing to knowing who I am and where I come from.&#8221;

A photo of Kayla and about 16 of her half siblings when they met in Nashville.

An Only Child’s DNA Surprise

It started with a tremor in his pinky finger. Within a year, his hand began to shake. Greg’s doctor diagnosed it as an <a href="https://blog.23andme.com/articles/snpwatch-study-identifies-genetic-variant-associated-with-risk-for-essential-tremor" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">essential tremor,</a> possibly nerve damage caused by an old sports injury.&nbsp;



Back then, almost 15 years ago now, Greg didn’t let the tremors throw him off. A type-A personality, who focused on his work, he considered himself a “warlord of commerce.” He wasn’t the kind of person who stopped to smell the roses. He didn’t let little things slow him down. He just kept grinding it out.&nbsp;



It wasn’t until 2011, two years after those first little tremors, that he noticed something else was amiss. It was during his daughter’s wedding. The wedding was beautiful. Everyone said so. And many of the guests also repeatedly said how wonderfully fragrant the flowers were, particularly Greg’s daughter’s bouquet. The wedding was his moment to stop and smell the roses, and yet:



“I couldn’t smell a thing.”&nbsp;



<figure class="wp-block-image alignright size-large is-resized"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="http://35.88.189.111/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/GBR-Headshot-RAP-1024x1024.jpeg" alt="A photo of Greg Ritscher" class="wp-image-31990" width="512" height="512" srcset="https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/GBR-Headshot-RAP-1024x1024.jpeg 1024w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/GBR-Headshot-RAP-scaled-e1690221242573-150x150.jpeg 150w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/GBR-Headshot-RAP-300x300.jpeg 300w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/GBR-Headshot-RAP-768x768.jpeg 768w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/GBR-Headshot-RAP-880x880.jpeg 880w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/GBR-Headshot-RAP-1180x1180.jpeg 1180w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/GBR-Headshot-RAP-scaled-e1690221242573-271x271.jpeg 271w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/GBR-Headshot-RAP-scaled-e1690221242573-372x372.jpeg 372w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/GBR-Headshot-RAP-scaled-e1690221242573-574x574.jpeg 574w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/GBR-Headshot-RAP-scaled-e1690221242573-980x980.jpeg 980w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 512px) 100vw, 512px" /></figure>



Afterward, Greg did a simple internet search using “tremors” and “loss of smell.” The results made him realize there was a good chance it was Parkinson’s disease. Three months later, in April 2011, a neurologist gave him the official diagnosis, he had Parkinson’s.&nbsp;



For many people, a Parkinson’s diagnosis triggers sadness, fear, denial, or anger. For Greg, a confident and driven person, the diagnosis sparked action.



“I don’t have time for whining and feeling sorry for myself. I just said, ‘I’ve got Parkinson’s; let’s figure it out.’”&nbsp;



<h6 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-figuring-it-out">Figuring it out</h6>



Greg, a 23andMe Parkinson&#8217;s research participant who has been raising awareness about the disease for years, shared his story with us recently. Like a lot of conditions, Parkinson&#8217;s disease affects people differently.



&#8220;I say if you know someone with Parkinson&#8217;s, that means you know one person with Parkinson&#8217;s,&#8221; said Greg. &#8220;It&#8217;s different for all of us.&#8221;&nbsp;



It&#8217;s heartening to see the recent wave of popular movies that include characters with Parkinson&#8217;s disease. Shows like Shrinking or the crime series Kaleidoscope have included characters living with the disease. And, of course, Greg has been inspired by Michael J. Fox and his work raising awareness about Parkinson’s and money for research. He&#8217;s already seen the recently released Fox&#8217;s documentary <a href="https://www.apple.com/tv-pr/originals/still-a-michael-j-fox-movie/#:~:text=Release%20date%3A%20May%2012%2C%202023&amp;text=Intimate%20and%20honest%2C%20and%20produced,optimist%20confronts%20an%20incurable%20disease.">Still</a> twice. Greg said there are many parallels with his own journey.&nbsp;



Beyond the raw view of what it&#8217;s like dealing with a severe movement disorder, Fox&#8217;s attitude hit home for Greg. Fox, whose Parkinson&#8217;s also started with a tremor in his little finger, has been a tireless advocate for research. And even with the pain and difficulty of living with a slowly debilitating disease, Fox has had the wisdom to see that his Parkinson&#8217;s has forced him to look at the world differently.&nbsp;



&#8220;Sometimes in meditation, I can find … that perfect place of serenity and peace and not questioning anything,&#8221; Fox said in a recent interview. &#8220;I couldn&#8217;t do that (before). That&#8217;s where the title of the movie comes from. I had written in one of my books I couldn&#8217;t be still until I could no longer be still.&#8221;



That resonated with Greg, who has taken up art and writing poetry since developing Parkinson&#8217;s.



&#8220;Trust me, if you knew me as a warlord of commerce in my business days, you would have never expected me to get into art and poetry,&#8221; he said. &#8220;Now I&#8217;m kinder. I&#8217;m gentler. I take more time and look people in the eye. I listen.&#8221;&nbsp;



Some of what he has been able to create, even with a condition that causes his hand to shake, baffles him. One of his drawings, a beautiful image of a hand, a brain, and a butterfly, he did one night when he couldn&#8217;t sleep.&nbsp;



&#8220;Anybody who knows me knows I can&#8217;t draw a lick,&#8221; he said, then holding up his trembling hand, he added. &#8220;If you see my right hand, you&#8217;d say that&#8217;s impossible, but it happened. I drew that in one sitting.&#8221;



<h6 class="wp-block-heading">Rise Above</h6>



For Greg coming to terms with his Parkinson&#8217;s meant taking stock. After his diagnosis, he understood that one part of his life was over, but another had begun. He didn&#8217;t want to focus on what he couldn&#8217;t do.



&#8220;I wanted to make a list of new things I could do,&#8221; he said.



Although not religious, Greg said he is &#8220;faith-oriented.&#8221; What he means is that he believes in God, and he believes God has a plan for him. He doesn&#8217;t know the plan yet. He&#8217;s still figuring it out.&nbsp;



&#8220;I&#8217;ve accepted I have Parkinson&#8217;s for a reason, but I have no clue what that reason is other than to help people,&#8221; said Greg.&nbsp;



Part of his approach has been to be engaged, whether connecting with people recently diagnosed with Parkinson&#8217;s disease or participating in local or national groups. He&#8217;s applying the skills he honed over the years in business to Parkinson&#8217;s. He wrote a book, <a href="https://gregritscher.com/">Rising Above Parkinson&#8217;s</a>. Whether working as an &#8220;ambassador to the Parkinson&#8217;s community&#8221; or as a &#8220;Parkinson&#8217;s Warrior,&#8221; he&#8217;s following his instincts.&nbsp;



<h6 class="wp-block-heading">Seeing Signs</h6>



Greg knows that hope is not a plan, but having hope can give you the courage to move forward. For Greg, it also helps inspire him to be engaged in research efforts, even if he knows there is a good chance that he may not benefit from that research. He is active with the <a href="https://www.parkinson.org/">Parkinson&#8217;s Foundation,</a> the <a href="https://davisphinneyfoundation.org/">Davis Phinney Foundation</a>, as well as <a href="https://www.jaxhopeinc.org/">Jax Hope</a> in Florida and <a href="https://parkinsonspointe.org/">Parkinson&#8217;s Pointe</a> in Colorado. He&#8217;s also an active participant in 23andMe&#8217;s <a href="https://www.23andme.com/pd/">Parkinson&#8217;s Research</a> community, even though he does not appear to have known genetic variants in genes associated with the disease, such as <a href="https://blog.23andme.com/articles/preliminary-results-from-the-parkinsons-impact-project-baseline-survey">LRRK2</a> and GBA.&nbsp;



&#8220;I want to do everything in my power to end this disease in my lifetime,&#8221; said Greg.&nbsp;



There was never a doubt that he&#8217;d participate in research, and along with participating in 23andMe research, he has contributed to more than 50 other studies.



&#8220;I want Parkinson&#8217;s to wish it had never met me.&#8221;



He knows that by participating, scientists may learn more about the condition that could help him and others. And he is doing all of this while also dealing with his health issues. The tremors on the right side of his body have made it difficult to eat, shave, and drink.&nbsp;



<figure class="wp-block-image alignright size-large is-resized"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="http://35.88.189.111/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Hope-Hand-765x1024.jpg" alt="A drawing by Greg of a hand, a butterfly and a brain." class="wp-image-31991" width="383" height="512" srcset="https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Hope-Hand-765x1024.jpg 765w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Hope-Hand-224x300.jpg 224w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Hope-Hand-768x1027.jpg 768w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Hope-Hand-658x880.jpg 658w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Hope-Hand-882x1180.jpg 882w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Hope-Hand-scaled.jpg 1914w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 383px) 100vw, 383px" /></figure>



Recently he underwent a surgical procedure called Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS), which involves placing thin metal wires in the brain that send micro electrical current to the brain meant to help reduce his <a href="https://www.michaeljfox.org/news/dyskinesia">dyskinesia</a>, the involuntary and uncontrolled tremors. It&#8217;s too early to tell if the procedure has helped him as his doctor works at properly calibrating the treatment. That said, since the operation, he has been able to smell for the first time in 15 years.&nbsp;



But beyond the treatment, Greg said there are still things that are revealing themselves about his condition. In the drawing he made one night when he couldn&#8217;t sleep, there were things in the image that he is only now starting to process. On the butterfly&#8217;s wings are little details that he believes represent the procedure he underwent, for instance. And on the hand, in tiny letters, is his name. Not long after drawing that, he saw a verse in the Bible, &#8220;Behold I engraved you on the palms of my hands.&#8221;



&#8220;God is holding us in our hand with our name etched on his fingers,&#8221; said Greg. &#8220;God has given me a gift to talk about this, and I want to reach and inspire people and give them hope.&#8221;

Rising Above Parkinson’s Disease

Editor&#8217;s Note 5/11/23: Since first sharing her story in 2021, Jenn has gone through treatment. She was kind enough to share that with us which was put together in a video by <a href="https://www.freethink.com/sponsored/23andme">Freethink</a>.



<figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
<iframe loading="lazy" title="The life-changing information in my 23andMe DNA reports" width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/MlVUbPabrQk?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe>
</div></figure>



When she began exploring her 23andMe results, Jenn Ford knew she&#8217;d learn something interesting about herself — her traits or her ancestry.



But she hadn&#8217;t expected to find out something so profoundly important for both her and her family&#8217;s health.



&#8220;I believe that knowledge is power, and the more I know, the more I can do about it,&#8221; she said recently.



<h6 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-something-unexpected">Something Unexpected</h6>



A long-time customer, Jenn first began using 23andMe in 2016 when she learned that her family&#8217;s ancestry was primarily Italian, French, German, and Lithuanian. However, she was surprised to see that it also included a tiny amount of Ashkenazi Jewish ancestry, about .2 percent, according to her 23andMe Ancestry Composition report.



It was all fascinating and fun, but nothing unexpected. That changed in 2018 when 23andMe released its BRCA1/BRCA2 (Selected Variants) Genetic Health Risk Report.*



When it became available, Jenn wanted to take a look at her report. So, she opened it up after opting in to receive the information and going through an educational module about the report.



&#8220;Oh, that&#8217;s strange,&#8221; she said to herself after scanning the report while at a family cookout.



The report indicated she had one of the three variants for which 23andMe tests. She quickly closed her report thinking she&#8217;d spend a little more time looking at it later. But, having spent almost ten years as an Oncology Technician at Tufts Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine, Jenn knew this was something she couldn&#8217;t ignore.



&#8220;I have a medical brain, and I can understand what something like this could mean,&#8221; she said.



<h6 class="wp-block-heading">Turning to a Genetic Counselor</h6>



When she got home, she opened up her report again, and this time carefully read through it all, even rereading portions of it to her husband, Andrew.



23andMe&#8217;s report looks at three selected variants in the BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes that are most common in people of Ashkenazi ancestry. Females with one of these variants — no matter their ancestry — have a 45-85 percent risk of developing breast cancer by age 70, compared to about 13 percent in the general population. In addition, having one of these variants increases the risk of developing ovarian and pancreatic cancer in females. It can also increase the risk of developing male breast cancer, pancreatic and prostate cancer in men.



At first, she wondered if there could have been a mistake. Then she thought a bit about her family&#8217;s health history. On her mother&#8217;s side, her relatives were all reasonably healthy. On her dad&#8217;s side, however, cancer has stalked generations. So even though her Ashkenazi ancestry was very, very small, she wondered if this variant that is more common in people of Ashkenazi ancestry may have been passed to her from her father’s side of the family. Jenn then called a friend who works in oncology. She ran through her report and got an almost immediate reaction.



&#8216;&#8221;Oh my God, you need to see a genetic counselor,&#8221;&#8216; Jenn recalls her saying.



<h6 class="wp-block-heading">Waiting</h6>



Living not far from one of the world&#8217;s premier cancer centers, Dana Farber Cancer Institute in Boston, she reached out to make an appointment to see a doctor and a genetic counselor.



&#8220;It was the longest five weeks, ever,&#8221; Jenn said.



At her appointment, the first reaction from her doctors at Dana Farber was surprised that 23andMe tested for these three selected variants. Next, after confirming her result, the doctors told Jenn that having one of these variants significantly elevated her risk for breast and ovarian cancer. They then started helping her to better understand what that risk meant, and what options she might consider. Finally, they sent her to see the gynecological oncologist, who estimated her risk of developing cancer was likely more than 75 percent, she said.



The next question was what to do about it. One approach would be to wait, have regular and more frequent medical screening for breast cancer, and to consider ovarian cancer screening. She was also told that every six months she would need to undergo testing in order to make sure that her scans were clean and she was cancer-free. That was something Jenn and her husband did not want to go through as a family, testing and waiting every six months. Another approach was prophylactic surgery to remove her breasts, ovaries, and fallopian tubes, significantly reducing the risk.



&#8220;I was 35, we had our two girls, and I knew I was done having children,&#8217; she said. &#8220;I didn&#8217;t want to deal with living with this risk and just waiting.&#8221;



<h6 class="wp-block-heading">Taking Action</h6>



She decided on preventative surgery and wanted to move quickly.



&#8220;I just knew I was going to have to get surgery,&#8221; she said.



It wasn&#8217;t easy. It required several different surgeries for removal and reconstruction and all the time for recovery. And just as Jenn had very quickly understood how important this information was to her, she also understood that it was also crucial for her family. Her result didn&#8217;t just trigger a conversation with her doctor. It also started discussions with her adult family members. Jenn knew that the same genetic variant that put her at a higher risk of developing cancer might impact them. She thought of her two young daughters and that they had a 50 percent chance of inheriting the risk variant. It would be something they would need to know about when they were adults, Jenn said. She also thought about her other relatives and how this genetic risk might explain cancer and the deaths of many women in her family, she thought.



<h6 class="wp-block-heading">The Cascade Effect</h6>



There&#8217;s something called the cascade effect. It refers to a chain of events that unfold from one initial action, something that&#8217;s often unforeseen. So often, people think of this negatively, as in the collapse of a building or a stock market crash. But there are also positive cascades, a chain of events that trigger positive outcomes from one person to the next.



Several years ago, 23andMe researchers did <a href="https://peerj.com/articles/8/">a small study</a> about how people responded to learning of an unexpected genetic health risk for cancer via their 23andMe report. That study found that those who learned they carried a BRCA risk variant generally took appropriate actions. For example, they talked to their doctors and shared their results with family members. The study showed that the result created a &#8220;cascade effect&#8221; that benefited relatives who might not know of the family risk for these hereditary cancers.



Jenn&#8217;s 23andMe story is a little like that.



&#8220;I have always known that certain cancers were prevalent in my dad&#8217;s family, but no one had received any genetic testing until this point. Which now, in retrospect, blows me away,&#8221; she said.



After she talked to her parents about her results, her dad got a genetic test ordered by his doctor. He, too, had the risk variant, confirming that it came from his side of the family. Last year, a little more than two years later, he learned through screening that he had prostate cancer. He had surgery and, to date, remains cancer-free.



&#8220;If I had not used 23andMe, I would not have taken the steps that I have taken to ensure that I live a long and healthy life,&#8221; Jenn said. &#8220;My Dad would likely not have found his prostate cancer until it was too late. Thank you, 23andMe.&#8221;



Learn more about the BRCA gene and its role in some cancers&nbsp;<a href="https://www.23andme.com/brca/">here</a>.



<hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity"/>



<h6 class="wp-block-heading">Note:</h6>



*23andMe health predisposition reports include both reports that meet FDA requirements for genetic health risks and reports which are based on 23andMe research and have not been reviewed by the FDA. The test uses qualitative genotyping to detect select clinically relevant variants in the genomic DNA of adults from saliva for the purpose of reporting and interpreting genetic health risks. It is not intended to diagnose any disease. Your ethnicity may affect the relevance of each report and how your genetic health risk results are interpreted. Each genetic health risk report describes if a person has variants associated with a higher risk of developing a disease, but does not describe a person’s overall risk of developing the disease. The test is not intended to tell you anything about your current state of health, or to be used to make medical decisions, including whether or not you should take a medication, how much of a medication you should take, or determine any treatment. For certain conditions, we provide a single report that includes information on both carrier status and genetic health risk. 



<h6 class="wp-block-heading">Warnings &amp; Limitations:</h6>



 The 23andMe PGS Genetic Health Risk Report for BRCA1/BRCA2 (Selected Variants) is indicated for reporting of the 185delAG and 5382insC variants in the BRCA1 gene and the 6174delT variant in the BRCA2 gene. The report describes if a woman is at increased risk of developing breast and ovarian cancer, and if a man is at increased risk of developing breast cancer or may be at increased risk of developing prostate cancer. The three variants included in this report are most common in people of Ashkenazi Jewish descent and do not represent the majority of BRCA1/BRCA2 variants in the general population. This report does not include variants in other genes linked to hereditary cancers and the absence of variants included in this report does not rule out the presence of other genetic variants that may impact cancer risk. The PGS test is not a substitute for visits to a healthcare professional for recommended screenings or appropriate follow-up. Results should be confirmed in a clinical setting before taking any medical action. For important information and limitations regarding each genetic health risk report, visit <a href="https://www.23andme.com/test-info/">23andme.com/test-info/</a>.

Taking Action for Health, A BRCA Story

Not many Mother&#8217;s Day stories revolve around cancer, but for Kenzie Pinck and her mom Shannon, the battle against cancer is a through-line that bonds mother and daughter.



During Kenzie&#8217;s early teens, she spent weeks at her mom&#8217;s side caring for her after surgery and chemotherapy for treatments related to follicular lymphoma, a type of blood cancer. The experience changed them both, bringing them even closer than they already were.&nbsp;



&#8220;I spent my 16th birthday in a tiara in the waiting room while my mom had surgery,&#8221; Kenzie said.



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1011" height="1024" src="http://35.88.189.111/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/image0-1-1011x1024.jpeg" alt="" class="wp-image-31684" srcset="https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/image0-1-1011x1024.jpeg 1011w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/image0-1-296x300.jpeg 296w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/image0-1-768x778.jpeg 768w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/image0-1-869x880.jpeg 869w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/image0-1-1165x1180.jpeg 1165w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/image0-1.jpeg 1170w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1011px) 100vw, 1011px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Photos of Shannon recovering from cancer treatment with Kenzie at her side. Image in upper left was taken on Kenzie&#8217;s 16th birthday.</figcaption></figure>



<h6 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-this-time-it-s-different">This Time It&#8217;s Different</h6>



Caring for her mom during that time, being her advocate, and connecting with other patients at the hospital helped nudge Kenzie toward medicine. Now a decade later, she&#8217;s a nurse in a neonatal intensive care unit. But the experience also taught both women how important it is to educate yourself about your health risks, to be proactive about your well-being, and to advocate for yourself to ensure you get the care you need.&nbsp;



Seven years ago, Shannon&#8217;s cancer went into remission. She and Kenzie felt the relief of dodging a bullet and a new appreciation for what is important in this life.



But now, mother and daughter are again facing the threat of cancer. This time, however, it&#8217;s different.&nbsp;



&#8220;This is something I can tackle,&#8221; Kenzie said.&nbsp;



<h6 class="wp-block-heading">A Founder Variant</h6>



Last year Kenzie learned from her <a href="https://www.23andme.com/brca/">23andMe BRCA1/BRCA2 (Selected Variants) Genetic Health Risk Report</a>* that she had a BRCA1 variant that put her at a much higher risk for breast and ovarian cancer. 



Although there are more than 1,000 BRCA variants known to increase cancer risk, the report only looks at three variants. The three so-called <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7203114/">&#8216;founder variants&#8217;</a> are much more common among people of Ashkenazi Jewish descent. 



Whereas one in 200-400 people in the general population carries a BRCA variant, about<a href="https://www.cdc.gov/cancer/breast/young_women/bringyourbrave/hereditary_breast_cancer/jewish_women_brca.htm"> one in 40</a> people of Ashkenazi descent has one of the three variants included in 23andMe&#8217;s report. Women with one of these variants have a 45-85 percent chance of developing breast cancer and up to a 46 percent chance of developing ovarian cancer by age 70. 



Men with a BRCA variant have an increased risk for male breast cancer and may have an increased risk for prostate cancer. The risk for certain other cancers may also be higher. (Here&#8217;s more about <a href="https://www.23andme.com/brca/">BRCA</a>.)



While Kenzie and Shannon knew they had Jewish ancestry, they weren&#8217;t aware of the role ancestry plays in the risk for some health conditions. Because they didn&#8217;t have a family history of breast cancer, or at least not that they knew, they never suspected that they might have one of the variants that carry a risk. None of their doctors suggested screening.&nbsp;



&#8220;I would have never been tested for it earlier,&#8221; said Kenzie, adding that if not for 23andMe, she and her mom might never have known that they carried this risk until it was too late.



Kenzie&#8217;s first call after seeing her report was to her mom. She wanted to know if Shannon knew about the variants in the BRCA gene that some people carry that put them at a higher risk for cancer.



&#8220;I asked her if she&#8217;d heard about it and if she or anyone in our family had tested before, and she said no.&#8221;



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="768" height="1024" src="http://35.88.189.111/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/image4-768x1024.jpeg" alt="" class="wp-image-31683" srcset="https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/image4-768x1024.jpeg 768w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/image4-225x300.jpeg 225w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/image4-660x880.jpeg 660w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/image4-885x1180.jpeg 885w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/image4.jpeg 1160w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 768px) 100vw, 768px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Kenzie, left, with her mom Shannon after completing nursing school.</figcaption></figure>



IF THAT&#8217;S WHAT I HAVE TO DO



Their experience is surprisingly common. In a study published in <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-020-63466-x">Scientific Reports</a>, 23andMe researchers found that many people with a BRCA variant are likely slipping through the cracks under current testing criteria. Another study by<a href="https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2703131"> researchers at Geisinger</a> reported that more than 80 percent of people with a BRCA variant did not know they had one.



Shannon and Kenzie said 23andMe&#8217;s report and the tutorial part of that report spurred them into action. Because of her cancer history, Shannon made an appointment with her oncologist, where she shared the news about Kenzie&#8217;s report. She was referred to a genetic counselor, who immediately set Shannon up for genetic testing. In addition, the genetic counselor suggested Kenzie immediately talk to her doctor to get follow-up testing.&nbsp;



So, Kenzie shared her results with her primary care physician.



&#8220;That conversation didn&#8217;t go well,&#8221; Kenzie said.



In her and her mom&#8217;s journey, that was the only encounter with a healthcare professional that went poorly. Even with all the knowledge she has as a nurse and her experience with her mom&#8217;s cancer, like many people, Kenzie said navigating her own healthcare isn&#8217;t easy. She was looking for insights and advice from her doctor but got something else.



&#8220;I prefer that people don&#8217;t know these results,&#8221; he told her. &#8220;I don&#8217;t know why you tested yourself.&#8221;



Kenzie said her jaw dropped when he said: &#8220;What are you going to do, cut off your breasts at 27?&#8221;



&#8220;I said, &#8216;Maybe, if that&#8217;s what I have to do.'&#8221;



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="683" height="1024" src="http://35.88.189.111/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/IMG_3604-683x1024.jpeg" alt="" class="wp-image-31685" srcset="https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/IMG_3604-683x1024.jpeg 683w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/IMG_3604-200x300.jpeg 200w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/IMG_3604-768x1152.jpeg 768w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/IMG_3604-587x880.jpeg 587w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/IMG_3604-787x1180.jpeg 787w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/IMG_3604-scaled.jpeg 1707w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 683px) 100vw, 683px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Kenzie, left, with her mom Shannon.</figcaption></figure>



<h6 class="wp-block-heading">Advocating for Yourself</h6>



That encounter with her doctor was shocking. His reaction felt like it was from a different era, but it was also a clarifying moment for Kenzie.&nbsp;



&#8220;I know how to stand up to a doctor and advocate for myself,&#8221; she said. &#8220;It scares me for all of the people who don&#8217;t know how to do that. Even with my knowledge and background, it was difficult for me, and I think about all the women who don&#8217;t know how to protect themselves.&#8221;



For Kenzie, this is information about a risk that she could do something about. So why wouldn&#8217;t she want to know?



Her doctor begrudgingly referred her to an oncologist. That interaction couldn&#8217;t have been more different. The oncologist asked her about her health history, lifestyle, and family&#8217;s health history.



&#8220;My doctor never asked me any of those questions,&#8221; Kenzie said.



All that information factors into her risk. For Kenzie, it reminded her of everything she controls and all the avenues she had to potentially lessen her odds of developing cancer. Almost immediately, she stopped drinking even though she never drank much alcohol. She focused on improving her diet, eating more vegetables and fruit and buying organic. She’s exercising more, and focusing more on reducing stress in her life. After talking to her doctor she also stopped using hormonal birth control because it’s been shown to <a href="https://journals.plos.org/plosmedicine/article?id=10.1371/journal.pmed.1004188">increase the risk for breast cancer</a> in some women.



A CASCADE



While she was doing that, Kenzie also got confirmatory testing done. She indeed had the variant in BRCA1 that put her at higher risk. Meanwhile, her mom&#8217;s testing also came back positive. So both mother and daughter carry the variant in the BRCA1 gene that puts them at higher risk.



While they navigated more tests and decisions on what to do next, both women realized this information was vital to share with the rest of their family. They&#8217;d already talked to Kenzie&#8217;s older brother, Alex, about it. Men can also carry this risk variant, and the associated increased risk for some cancers. And they, in turn, can pass it on to their children. It turns out Alex also carries the variant. He is following up with his primary care doctor, but said he’s more worried about his mom and his sister.



In addition, Shannon talked to other close family members.&nbsp;



&#8220;Almost everyone tested positive,&#8221; Shannon said.



They&#8217;re each taking action to mitigate their risk.&nbsp;



In genetics, these kinds of family conversations are sometimes called the &#8220;cascade effect&#8221; of testing. It refers to the positive cascade of events triggered within families after someone learns of an inherited risk like this.&nbsp;



Several years ago, 23andMe researchers did <a href="https://peerj.com/articles/8/">a small study</a> on how people responded to learning of an unexpected genetic health risk for cancer via their 23andMe report. That study found that those who learned they carried a BRCA risk variant usually took appropriate actions. Like Shannon and Kenzie, they talked to their doctors and shared their results with family members. The study showed that the result created a &#8220;cascade effect&#8221; that benefited relatives who might not know of the family risk for these hereditary cancers.



&#8220;It was important to share that information,&#8221; said Shannon.



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1024" height="768" src="http://35.88.189.111/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/Kenzie-and-Alex-1024x768.jpeg" alt="" class="wp-image-31687" srcset="https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/Kenzie-and-Alex-1024x768.jpeg 1024w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/Kenzie-and-Alex-300x225.jpeg 300w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/Kenzie-and-Alex-768x576.jpeg 768w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/Kenzie-and-Alex-880x660.jpeg 880w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/Kenzie-and-Alex-1180x885.jpeg 1180w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/Kenzie-and-Alex.jpeg 1440w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Kenzie, left, and her brother Alex.</figcaption></figure>



<h6 class="wp-block-heading">Ticking time bombs</h6>



While both Shannon and Kenzie carry the same variant that puts them at risk, they are also at different stages of their lives, so their choices are different.



Kenzie isn&#8217;t yet 30, doesn&#8217;t have children, and is single. So for her, doing more frequent tests and scans makes more sense. In her head, the age 35 is a marker. It gives her more time to decide if she wants to have children, whether and when to get a mastectomy, or whether to remove her fallopian tubes and both of her ovaries.&nbsp;



The choices for her mom, who is in her 50s and has already had her children, are hard but more straightforward. She’d already gone through cancer once before; she didn’t want to again. In addition, because her cancer is in remission it could always come back. Her nightmare would have been to battle two different cancers at the same time.&nbsp;



Although she had a hysterectomy during her previous cancer surgeries, her ovaries were not removed at the time.&nbsp; Shannon decided to have her ovaries removed after seeing her oncologist. He told her that the ovaries &#8220;had to go. They&#8217;re like ticking time bombs.&#8221;



She recently had surgery to remove them, and is scheduled for her mastectomy after Mother’s Day.



<h6 class="wp-block-heading">If That&#8217;s What I Have to Do</h6>



Shannon believes Kenzie saved her life. 



This whole experience has altered both Kenzie and Shannon’s perspectives. Shannon said she recently decided that she wouldn&#8217;t undergo breast reconstruction surgery after her mastectomy; that seemed so much less important to her now.&nbsp;



For her daughter, who always assumed she&#8217;d one day have children, the idea that she might not didn&#8217;t feel like such a radical one anymore. But she has time to decide.&nbsp;



For both women, their experience is a testament that knowledge is power.



&#8220;I think for me, how quickly we were able to move through this process to take control, that&#8217;s powerful,&#8221; said Shannon. &#8220;When I feel a little deflated or sad that Kenzie has this (risk), I worry about her; Kenzie reminds me of how blessed we are to have this knowledge. Look at what we&#8217;ve been able to do, not to get breast cancer. It&#8217;s an inspiration.&#8221;



<hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity"/>



<h6 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-note">Note</h6>



*The 23andMe PGS test uses qualitative genotyping to detect select clinically relevant variants in the genomic DNA of adults from saliva for the purpose of reporting and interpreting genetic health risks and reporting carrier status. It is not intended to diagnose any disease. Your ethnicity may affect the relevance of each report and how your genetic health risk results are interpreted. Each genetic health risk report describes if a person has variants associated with a higher risk of developing a disease, but does not describe a person’s overall risk of developing the disease. 



The test is&nbsp;not intended to tell you anything about your current state of health, or to be used to make medical decisions, including whether or not you should take a medication, how much of a medication you should take, or determine any treatment. Our carrier status reports can be used to determine carrier status, but cannot determine if you have two copies of any genetic variant. These carrier reports are not intended to tell you anything about your risk for developing a disease in the future, the health of your fetus, or your newborn child&#8217;s risk of developing a particular disease later in life. For certain conditions, we provide a single report that includes information on both carrier status and genetic health risk.&nbsp;



<h6 class="wp-block-heading">Warnings &amp; Limitations </h6>



The 23andMe PGS Genetic Health Risk Report for BRCA1/BRCA2 (Selected Variants) is indicated for reporting of the 185delAG and 5382insC variants in the BRCA1 gene and the 6174delT variant in the BRCA2 gene. The report describes if a woman is at increased risk of developing breast and ovarian cancer, and if a man is at increased risk of developing breast cancer or may be at increased risk of developing prostate cancer. The three variants included in this report are most common in people of Ashkenazi Jewish descent and do not represent the majority of BRCA1/BRCA2 variants in the general population. 



This report does not include variants in other genes linked to hereditary cancers and the absence of variants included in this report does not rule out the presence of other genetic variants that may impact cancer risk. The PGS test is not a substitute for visits to a healthcare professional for recommended screenings or appropriate follow-up.&nbsp; Results should be confirmed in a clinical setting before taking any medical action. For important information and limitations regarding other genetic health risk reports and carrier status reports, visit&nbsp; <a href="http://www.23andme.com/test-info">www.23andme.com/test-info</a>.&nbsp;

Kenzie, left, with her mom Shannon after completing nursing school.

A Mother and Daughter’s Fight Against Cancer

Editor&#8217;s Note:There are some stories so good they need to be told a couple of times over, so for St. Patrick’s Day we thought it right to reshare a post from last year about Mary and her son Ryan connecting with their roots in Ireland. So enjoy and Happy St. Paddy’s Day.
Each March, when she was still in grade school, Mary’s parents would dress her in what passed for Irish clothes — a lot of green — to celebrate the feast of St. Patrick’s with other families who’d adopted children from Ireland.
Like two of her six siblings, Mary was adopted from an orphanage in Ireland in the early 1950s. She was raised by a family in California. She always knew she was adopted from Ireland, but she didn’t really know what it meant to be Irish.
For such a small place, Ireland has an outsized influence on the American psyche. About 31 million Americans claim<a href="https://data.census.gov/cedsci/table?q=ACSDT1Y2019.B04006&amp;tid=ACSDT5Y2019.B04006&amp;hidePreview=true"> Irish ancestry</a>, according to the last Census. And whether it’s Frank McCourt’s book “<a href="http://catdir.loc.gov/catdir/description/simon033/96005335.html">Angela’s Ashes,</a>” or Mary McCarthy’s “<a href="https://www.worldcat.org/title/memories-of-a-catholic-girlhood/oclc/506838147?loc=">Memories of a Catholic Girl</a>,” or the book “<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Tree_Grows_in_Brooklyn_(novel)">A Tree Grows in Brooklyn</a>,” most of the best Irish-American stories are intertwined with sadness, humor, and family. Mary’s story has a little bit of each.
For St. Paddy’s Day this year, we wanted to share her story and the story of her children, and how they all connected to more than one hundred family members in Ireland that they never knew they had. Making that connection not only bonded them to people but to a place that felt familiar. Mary’s son Ryan summed up the feeling of meeting new cousins in Ireland, seeing resemblances to him and his brother and sister, and the joy of hearing family history entwined with the history of Ireland.
“I’ve never had this kind of connectedness before,” he said. “I went from being in a place where I felt like I had no connection to going to a place where I feel more connected.”

 <figure class="wp-block-image size-large is-style-default"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1024" height="515" src="https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/Ryan-and-Mary-1024x515.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-29622" srcset="https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/Ryan-and-Mary-1024x515.jpg 1024w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/Ryan-and-Mary-300x151.jpg 300w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/Ryan-and-Mary-768x386.jpg 768w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/Ryan-and-Mary-880x442.jpg 880w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/Ryan-and-Mary-1180x593.jpg 1180w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /></figure>
 
<h6>California Irish</h6>
For his mom, that connection was more than half a century in the making.
As a child, Mary always celebrated St. Patrick&#8217;s Day but that was the extent of her Irishness. Three of her brothers, her parents’ biological children, were all blonde, blue-eyed “California boys.” And although she felt loved, Mary also felt alien with her dark hair, blue eyes, and pale skin.
“I lacked that underlying sense of belonging,” she said.
That was something she would have never said out loud because she didn’t want to insult her family or appear ungrateful, but she didn’t see herself in them. And Mary lacked any connection to her birth family or the land of her birth, Ireland.
“I always wondered, you know, who am I and where do I come from?”
<h6>St. Patrick’s Mother and Baby Home</h6>
In the 1950s, being an unwed mother in Ireland meant shame and ostracism, even more than it did in the US. When women became pregnant out of wedlock, their families often sent them off to special homes, many of which were run by the Catholic church. They’d stay at those homes for many months until they gave birth. After her birth at<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St_Patrick%27s_Mother_and_Baby_Home"> St. Patrick’s Mother and Baby Home</a>, Mary remained until she was adopted at six months and then sent to California.
What happened at St. Patrick’s Mother and Baby Home — and at other homes like it across Ireland —only<a href="https://www.thejournal.ie/what-is-the-mother-and-baby-homes-commission-ireland-5249377-Oct2020/"> came to light</a> decades later. The rate of infant mortality was quite high. For the children who were not adopted to families, life there could be quite bleak, and sometimes the young mothers only reluctantly gave up their children. So in many ways, Mary knows she was fortunate to have been brought to the US. Still, she wanted to know more.
All Mary had was a passport and a birth certificate that listed her mother’s name and where she’d been born. In the 1970s she learned more about St. Patrick’s Mother and Baby Home, which she visited when she traveled there in the 1970s. But she didn’t have any other information on her birth mother. She was helped eventually by an Irish citizen who’d made it his mission to help adoptees and their birth mothers find each other if they wanted or to simply learn more about what had happened to them. Some birth mothers had only given up their children under duress and wanted to find them. The 2013 movie<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philomena_(film)"> Philomena</a> detailed one mother’s search for her child sent to the United States.
Mary’s story was different. She did eventually travel to Ireland in the 1970s and visit the orphanage. It wasn’t until later in the 1990s with the help from the Irish citizen who helped adoptees like her that she was able to connect with her birth mother’s sister. But her efforts to meet her mother were rebuffed at that time. Mary was able to give her photos of her and her children to share with her birth mother.
“There was still a lot of fear and shame,” Mary said.
Few biological family members even knew of her birth.

 <figure class="wp-block-image size-large is-style-default"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1024" height="999" src="https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/Ryan-Mary-Michael-and-the-first-cousins-1-1024x999.png" alt="" class="wp-image-29624" srcset="https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/Ryan-Mary-Michael-and-the-first-cousins-1-1024x999.png 1024w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/Ryan-Mary-Michael-and-the-first-cousins-1-300x293.png 300w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/Ryan-Mary-Michael-and-the-first-cousins-1-768x749.png 768w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/Ryan-Mary-Michael-and-the-first-cousins-1-880x858.png 880w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/Ryan-Mary-Michael-and-the-first-cousins-1-1180x1151.png 1180w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/Ryan-Mary-Michael-and-the-first-cousins-1.png 1468w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /></figure>
 
<h6>DNA Unlocks the Secret</h6>
Despite not meeting family, Mary felt the pull of something deeper from that trip.
“I saw more people who looked like me,” she said. “I became interested in learning more about where I came from.”&nbsp;
All that would have to wait, though. This was all long before DNA testing opened up ways of finding families that didn’t rely on a paper trail. With name changes and her father’s name unknown to her, Mary had very little to go on. Besides, she soon started a family of her own. She was busy working as a nurse and raising her sons Ryan and Michael and her daughter Stephanie.
Mary had her life to live, and her search grew dormant.
It wasn’t until her own children were grown that the possibility to connect with her birth family in Ireland emerged again. But this time it was her children who picked up her search. It started with her daughter, Stephanie, who used 23andMe to explore health insights, but noticed a message from an unknown DNA relative.
The relative was in Ireland and had no idea that he had a close cousin in the United States. He was in shock and wanted to know more.&nbsp;
“He ended up being my mom’s cousin,” said Ryan. “After a few texts and emails over a few days, we were able to pinpoint who my mother’s father was.”
For the first time, Mary learned a bit about her father. He’d been a bouncer and a process server. He traveled a bit, worked in Dublin, and served in the military in England. He had at least one other child out of wedlock, who Mary connected with and who lived in Scotland. After he was married, he had five other daughters and one son. He and his wife lost two other children. Most of her siblings, however, were still alive with adult children of their own.
As they messaged back and forth they were able to piece together more about him and her family, but none had known of Mary&#8217;s existence. Her father had passed away and they couldn’t ask him, so she didn’t know how he met her birth mother or the circumstances around her birth. As for her mother’s side, after her initial efforts were rebuffed she had more luck in 2001 when she connected with a sister, and although she didn’t meet her birth mother she shared photos of her family for her birth mother to see.&nbsp;&nbsp;
Apart from her mother and her mother’s older sister, no one knew of her birth, Mary said. They too were shocked, but most of them were open, once they learned of her existence. She found out that she had four maternal sisters and one brother. On her father’s side, she had five sisters and one brother. She has one other brother, on her father’s side who was also adopted by a family in Scotland. Suddenly Mary had dozens and dozens of Irish relatives who were eager to meet her.
“It was a shock when they found out; no one knew,” Mary said.

 <figure class="wp-block-image size-large is-style-default"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="768" height="1024" src="https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/bw-1-1-768x1024.jpeg" alt="" class="wp-image-29619" srcset="https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/bw-1-1-768x1024.jpeg 768w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/bw-1-1-225x300.jpeg 225w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/bw-1-1-660x880.jpeg 660w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/bw-1-1-885x1180.jpeg 885w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/bw-1-1.jpeg 1158w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 768px) 100vw, 768px" /></figure>
 
<h6>An Irish Welcome</h6>
In 2019 before the pandemic, Mary and her children visited Ireland. Mary went back to where the orphanage once had been and visited some of the places she’d been before. But this time she was brought into the homes of her family.
Gone was the shame of the secret of having had a child out of wedlock, replaced by curiosity and a desire to connect with family.&nbsp;
Mary met her siblings, and more than 100 cousins, nieces, and nephews. Her sisters noticed the family connection right away.
At one of the meetings with her sisters, she walked into a home and toward the back of the house, looking out the window and sort of surveying her surroundings. Her sisters said that was just what they do. And two of her sisters on her mother’s side are nurses, like her.&nbsp;
One relative took Mary and Ryan around Westport in County Mayo where relatives lived, and they would stop at homes or pubs to meet relatives. She got to see photos of those who passed away. Sometimes she’d meet a cousin or a niece or nephew and she’d be struck dumb by how much they looked like one of her sons or her daughter.
“It was a little surreal,” Mary said.
And perhaps what she didn’t expect was how important it all was for her children. This connection was missing for them, too, so seeing it had a profound impact.
Mary said that listening to her son Ryan explain their story struck her because she suddenly understood that they felt some of what she felt looking around at her adopted family and not seeing herself in them.
“I never realized that for them it was also hard to be around family that doesn’t look anything like them,” she said.
After their trip to Ireland, several of their Irish relatives wanted to visit Mary and her children, but the pandemic postponed that reunion. The family hopes that they’ll be able to extend the welcome mat to their Irish family soon.
<h6>Find out more</h6>
Want to learn more about whether you have<a href="https://you.23andme.com/ancestry/"> Irish ancestry</a>? 23andMe customers go to their <a href="https://you.23andme.com/ancestry/">Ancestry Composition</a> to learn more.
Not yet a customer? Find out more about our <a href="https://www.23andme.com/dna-ancestry/">Ancestry Service here.</a>

An Irish Welcome

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1024" height="693" src="http://35.88.189.111/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/Group-125283-1-1024x693.png" alt="" class="wp-image-31016" srcset="https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/Group-125283-1-1024x693.png 1024w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/Group-125283-1-300x203.png 300w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/Group-125283-1-768x520.png 768w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/Group-125283-1-880x596.png 880w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/Group-125283-1-1180x799.png 1180w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Corie Allessie, Erick Rodriguez, and Kim Gugliotta</figcaption></figure>



On January 1, many of us resolve to change our habits. We vow to move more, sit less, eat better, lose weight, spend wisely, call our mothers, or start a new hobby.&nbsp;



Setting New Year’s resolutions can be a valuable exercise:<a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/jclp.1151"> research</a> shows that the act of making them increases the likelihood of achieving change.



Whatever your goals are for the new year, here are three stories of 23andMe customers who made positive changes in their lives to inspire and motivate.



<h4 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-a-family-gets-healthy-with-some-help-from-mom"><a href="https://blog.23andme.com/articles/a-family-gets-healthy-with-some-help-from-mom" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">A Family Gets Healthy, with Some Help from Mom</a></h4>



<a href="https://blog.23andme.com/articles/a-family-gets-healthy-with-some-help-from-mom" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Corie Allessie</a>, a retired dental assistant and former Navy jet mechanic, has a few essential rules for healthy living.Never, ever eat in front of the television. Get up and get moving (winter is not an excuse). Prepare healthy food – especially vegetables – ahead of time. Minimize eating out. Walk whenever you can (her preferred walking partner is her 170-pound Saint Bernard, Pete). And keep yourself accountable by writing in a journal or sharing your goals with a friend or family member.



<h4 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-from-meat-and-potatoes-to-chicken-and-fish"><a href="https://blog.23andme.com/articles/healthier-every-day" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">From Meat and Potatoes to Chicken and Fish</a></h4>



<a href="https://blog.23andme.com/articles/healthier-every-day" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Erick Rodriguez</a>, a professional Jiu-Jitsu athlete in the Army reserves, grew up in the Midwest and never thought much about his diet. But the self-proclaimed “meat and potatoes guy” overhauled his lifestyle after learning he was at an increased likelihood of developing type 2 diabetes.



<h4 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-making-the-change"><a href="https://blog.23andme.com/articles/23andme-heart-health" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Making the Change</a></h4>



<a href="https://blog.23andme.com/articles/23andme-heart-health" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Kim Gugliotta</a> fills her plate with healthy foods like legumes, vegetables, chicken, fish, and tofu. She walks for at least 30 minutes a day. And she’s a regular on the pickleball courts of Ft. Lauderdale, Fl. 



But Kim wasn’t always so health conscious. Just a few years ago, she would have opted for “steak and cheeseburgers” and would have been tempted to skip her daily walk.

New Year, New You: Three Stories of Change

<figure class="wp-block-image alignwide size-large"><img decoding="async" src="http://35.88.189.111/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/IMG_6510-scaled-e1671646188429-1024x911.jpeg" alt="Brandon Moore photo" class="wp-image-30991"/></figure>



Out with the gluten, in with the gluten-free substitutes.



That’s the new motto for Brandon Moore, who was recently diagnosed with celiac disease.



<h6 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-unexplained-symptoms">Unexplained symptoms</h6>



Brandon never knew that all the pizza, pasta, and bread that sustained him were also making him ill.



He’d experienced chronic stomach problems for as long as he could remember, but no doctor or specialist could explain them. “I have done multiple tests looking for various issues like diverticulitis and stomach ulcers,” he said. “My doctors never found anything.”



Then he received a 23andMe Health + Ancestry kit as a gift from his step-grandmother. His <a href="https://blog.23andme.com/articles/new-23andme-report-celiac-disease">23andMe Celiac Disease Genetic Health Risk report*</a> indicated that he had a slightly increased risk of developing celiac disease.&nbsp;



He mentioned his results to his doctor during a routine physical, who ordered a follow-up test. The results confirmed he had the condition.



<h6 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-a-new-lifestyle">A new lifestyle</h6>



<a href="https://www.23andme.com/topics/health-predispositions/celiac-disease/">Celiac disease</a> is an autoimmune condition in which the consumption of gluten protein – found in wheat and other grains like barley and rye –&nbsp; can result in damage to the small intestine and cause digestive and non-digestive symptoms.&nbsp;&nbsp;



The only known treatment is a gluten-free diet. So, Brandon began reading labels and avoiding everything containing gluten.&nbsp;



Within weeks of going gluten-free, he felt better. His chronic stomach problems abated. And he even began to lose weight. “I feel physically and mentally healthier than I have ever felt in my life,” he said. “I lost 50 pounds; I don’t even get colds anymore!”



Brandon has adjusted to his new gluten-free lifestyle. “I don’t take a lot of risks. It’s just not worth it,” he said. “Even a minuscule amount of gluten will upset my stomach.”



He credits his success to his wife, who helps him research and prepare food: “I couldn’t do it without her. She is my rock.”



He also enjoys introducing his friends to the wide array of gluten-free products that are now available. “We’ll have friends over, and we’ll prepare them hamburgers on gluten-free buns, and honestly, they don’t even know the difference. Everything’s pretty good now!”



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*The 23andMe PGS test uses qualitative genotyping to detect select clinically relevant variants in the genomic DNA of adults from saliva for the purpose of reporting and interpreting genetic health risks. It is not intended to diagnose any disease. Your ethnicity may affect the relevance of each report and how your genetic health risk results are interpreted. Each genetic health risk report describes if a person has variants associated with a higher risk of developing a disease, but does not describe a person’s overall risk of developing the disease. The test is&nbsp; not intended to tell you anything about your current state of health, or to be used to make medical decisions, including whether or not you should take a medication, how much of a medication you should take, or determine any treatment. The Celiac Disease Genetic Health Risk report (i) is indicated for reporting of the rs2187668 variant in the HLA-DQA1 gene, which tags the HLA-DQ2.5 haplotype, and the rs7454108 variant near the HLA-DQB1 gene, which tags the HLA-DQ8 haplotype and (ii) describes if a person has variants associated with a higher risk of developing celiac disease. The variants included in this report are common in many ethnicities, but are best studied in people of European descent.

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