To Test or Not to Test

Genetic tests of our risks for disease offer practical medical benefits for some while for others, they do not prove useful. Often they raise many medical, ethical, and psychological concerns. To Test or Not to Test arms readers with questions that should be considered before they decide whether to pursue genetic screening. • Am I at higher risk for a disorder?. • Can genetic testing give me useful information?. • Is the timing right for testing?. • Do the benefits of having the genetic information outweigh the problems that testing can bring?. Doris Teichler Zallen provides a template to guide individuals and families through the decision-making process and additional resources where they can gain more information. She shares interviews with genetic specialists, doctors, and researchers, as well as the personal stories of nearly 100 people who have faced genetic-testing decisions. To Test or Not to Test is an essential consumer tool-kit for the genetic decision-making process.