DNA Will Be The Key To Personalized Cures For Cancer

DNA Testing & Storage

Our firm offers post-mortem DNA testing and storage so that the DNA of your loved one can be used to determine if offspring are at enhanced inherited risk for certain diseases, such as cancer and heart disease.  

We believe that post-mortem DNA testing and storage is one of the most important services that we offer. 

Since we introduced this service, we know that in at least two cases the information learned through DNA testing has changed the lives (maybe saved the lives) of family members.  

Post-mortem DNA testing and storage are cost-effective (typically less than $1,500) and save lives.  

It is a certainty that the future of medicine is genetics and if the DNA of deceased relatives is not preserved it is lost forever as a tool to save the lives of current and future generations.  

How Do I Know Genetics Are The Future Of Medicine?

Over the last few months, I have been inundated with articles touting the latest cancer breakthrough that is predicated upon DNA testing and genetic manipulation.  

Below is a summary of the latest articles I read regarding cancer treatment breakthroughs.  

1. Moderna and Merck announced that combining an mRNA vaccine (using the technology of COVID vaccinations) and KEYTRUDA (a Merck anti-cancer immunotherapy drug) reduced the risk of recurrence or death from melanoma after surgical treatment by 44%.  
2. Adicet Bio has reported that a new and specific type of T-cell therapy induced complete remission in patients with advanced and aggressive B-cell lymphoma.  
3. AstraZeneca and Daiichi Sanko announced that its cancer drug Enhertu cut the death rate of women with advanced breast cancer by one-third.  Enhertu changes the way cells replicate DNA during cell division so that cancer cells cannot reproduce. 
4. Sloan Kettering announced that every rectal cancer patient in a recent trial (more than 15 patients) is now in 100% remission after receiving breakthrough immunotherapy treatment that changed the way cells replicate so that cancer cells cannot reproduce.
5. Affimed (a European biotech company) reported that it developed a new immunotherapy drug which, if taken in combination with KEYTRUDA, seems to beat advanced Hodgkin lymphoma which would otherwise be fatal.  
6. The University of Pennsylvania Medical School announced preliminary success in treating certain types of resistant pancreatic cancer with a combination of immunotherapy and chemotherapy.  Apparently, the combination of cancer treatments has much better results than either immunotherapy or chemotherapy on its own.  
7. Also at the University of Pennsylvania, researchers have developed an mRNA flu vaccine that is entering clinical trials and is expected to provide a baseline of protection against all variants of the flu. 
8. BioNTech has announced that it believes a combination of CAR T-Cell therapy and mRNA technology can shrink solid tumors such as lung or kidney cancer.  
9. Two biotechs – Syndax Pharmaceuticals and Kura Oncology –  are developing a class of genetically targeted drugs that induce remission in about one-third of patients with advanced leukemia.  

The above are just some of the recent highlights – there is much more in the works.  Each of the above announcements is based upon breakthroughs in understanding cancer’s genetic code.  

So, why am I telling you this?  

Post-Mortem DNA Testing and Storage Saves Lives

I am hopeful that cancer will be largely cured, if not during my lifetime, but certainly during the lifetime of my children.  That is a game changer for all of us that will extend the length and quality of life as we age.  

And, given the importance of understanding our genetic makeup, it is without a doubt that having an accurate and complete genetic history before being diagnosed with cancer will be essential for doctors to synthesize personalized cancer treatments and cures.  

The problem is that, historically, when our parents die, their DNA dies with them.  If you don’t capture your parent’s DNA, before they are buried or cremated, it becomes impossible to create an accurate and complete genetic history.  

At our firm, we can obtain, test, and preserve for future testing, the DNA of anyone who has passed away.  We will provide this service for your family at any funeral home in South Florida.  

The DNA we test is preserved in a small vial and can be retested and retested and retested. Below is a picture of the vial.  

Please call us so that we can arrange for DNA testing and storage for you or your loved one (only after death, however).  

Please visit our FAQs page for more topics and information.