How much to tell teen about probable inherited disorder

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Have been to genetic counseling at Georgetown. I recall they said to wait until the kids are adult age - 18/21 can't remember which age - just google it because they wouldn't test until then anyway (this is for a cancer gene which will greatly impact their lives if they have it - 90% chance of cancer over their lifetimes often striking persons in 20-50s - quite a burden for a young person).

Good luck. My instinct is to wait until at least 18 if she is a drama queen. Another year or two isn't going to make/break the impact.

This makes the most sense to me. I had a friend in school who was screened for a heart murmur. It turned out to be completely normal, however from 7th grade on, she would tell everyone that she would die in the near future b/ of her heart. Yes, she was a drama queen and lived for the attention. I dropped her as a friend b/c of this. By chance, I did meet a friend of hers while in my 20s and she was still milking the heart issue was going to kill her. Well, she's 43 now...