Yes, although we also hear from family members who do come to us that their relatives are choosing not to solicit or not to act on a referral. In that regard, even as recently as two days ago I was paged by one of my colleagues whose child is due to be seen in our clinic regarding the possibility of a condition called neurofibromatosis. It's relatively common. About one in 3,000 people have it. Most people do pretty well, but there is a risk, especially in adulthood, of some nasty tumours associated with this condition that are occasionally life threatening.
She called me specifically to ask me if she came to the genetics clinic and her child was diagnosed with this condition, would that impair her insurability? I said that I had to answer truthfully that it could. It could impair her insurability. She's only 13. If she is diagnosed with that condition, then it may become very difficult for her to obtain life insurance, disability insurance, and so on. That child will not be coming to see us, for that very reason.
I have a number of patients that I see because of the possibility of a hereditary cancer syndrome. One of them who I saw fairly recently is a lady who has temporary employment and moves from employer to employer. I saw her because she has a 50% chance of having a hereditary cancer syndrome that's associated with a very aggressive form of kidney cancer. She decided not to have the test that would diagnose that syndrome or, on the other hand, free her from that concern, because she's afraid that she will be subject to employment and insurance discrimination associated with her employment.