You carry a gene for a particular disease that can be treated. You can carry a gene for a particular disease for which there is no current treatment. This news might cause severe anxiety or other psychological distress, depending on the severity of the disease. You carry a gene for a disease and might consider informing relatives that they, too, might carry the gene. It can be very difficult to decide whether to share such information with relatives.
Genetic counselors can help sort out the various options in such a case.
Also, for any future research, we may contact you with a new consent form giving you additional information. If you are concerned about a potential genetic disorder, you and your doctor might choose to test specifically for it. This would require additional blood or tissue samples and would not be part of this research project. You should discuss this option with your doctor or genetic counselor. The presence of a genetic marker does not necessarily mean that an individual will develop a disease.