
Originally Posted by
MauiRockHopper
If I were diagnosed with cancer I wouldn't feel so enthused to potentially pass that gene onto a child. But maybe there's a chance he'd create another cycling hero.
It's my understanding that most cancers are not thought of as being caused by inheritable genetic characteristics. Some few are strongly connected to genes; some to random mutations, which are not inherited; some from human activities; some are thought to have viral origins. They really still don't know much about what causes cancer. There are quite a lot of people with cancer who have children, and all parties end up doing quite well.
"My predominant feeling is one of gratitude. I have loved and been loved;I have been given much and I have given something in return...Above all, I have been a sentient being, a thinking animal, on this beautiful planet, and that in itself has been an enormous privilege and an adventure." O. Sacks