Annalisa S.

My situation is a difficult one. With a family history of colon cancer as well as reproductive cancer my conflict is should I take the chance of having a colonoscopy since I'm also an older person with allergic asthma or do an at home testing kit. Over the last 25 years I've had many colonoscopies which were all negative. Last year I did an at home test which was negative. I have been very reclusive during the last two and a half years out of fear of contracting Covid. In short I'm between the 'devil and the deep blue sea". I had a relatively new PCP for the last year and I explained this conflict. This doctor just wrote a referral to an endoscopist anyway and when I didn't follow through she seemed to become extremely insistent on my doing the new "miracle" test from Cologuard. I advised her that I've done a great deal of research on this test and I rejected it due to the myriad issues it presents. The false positives would have me hysterical and running to an endoscopist that I don't know since my doctor stopped doing endoscopies because of the virus. He is also an older person with allergic asthma. He is a very brilliant person who I've seen for 25 years. Then there are the false negatives. It is my belief that not enough is known about DNA by the medical community to trust any result from this test. My refusal to have anything to do with this test caused very disturbing behavior on the part of this doctor and without advising me she ordered a kit, gave Cologuard my personal information which opened a pandora's box of phone calls from these people trying to pressure me into taking this test! I received a kit within two days at my home! I called the company and advised them to never contact me again and advised this doctor by telephone message that if I never see her again it would be too soon! A few days ago I received an instruction pamphlet on taking the test followed by a phone call by an employee from Cologuard who I read the "riot act" among other 'niceties'. Having my information and in my case, withoout my permission as well as against my wishes had me enraged. Hard sell from a used car salesman is the only comparison I can think of. I've read that Cologuard may become partners with a big Pharma' company which is more than enough for me to stay away-this is not about healthcare but it is about Wall Street and profits. I was not charged for the test materials and would never purchase the kit. The charges are only when they process the kit at a lab after it is used. I was told by the Cologuard Rep. To "throw it away".

I had taken a DNA test recently which was very upsetting but why go into that again?
I had the good fortune to find Gedmatch another genealogy site where I uploaded my raw DNA. They analyzed this data and the results were staggering. In no way did these
Results compare to the first one. They are just great! Gedmatch's results were inclusive
Of all my ethnicities as well as a few I never could imagine/ They were very thorough
And let me find my Scottish great grandmother as well as my Frankish and Norman ancestry. There was ancestry from many regions I was never told about which is par
For the course since people who immigrated to the US within the last 200 years wanted to live here as Tabula Rasa's(blank slates). They rarely spoke about ancestry. As their children we were encouraged to not discuss the past which I feel
Is very psychologically unhealthy. Worse yet, they refused to answer my questions.
As a result people have been living under false assumptions and to some extent, lies. If we all were told the truth we would have felt related to many people who we
Thought were "different". I'm so grateful to Gedmatch for letting the light shine in,
Doing this without charge and in only a few minutes! Thanks for everything, I won't
Forget. I have 9 ethnicities not four; this was objective, scientific and without
Hidden agendas.

I made the mistake of choosing My Heritage.com to test my DNA since there was always much confusion due to the utter silence of most of my relatives regarding their experiences in Europe and refusing to give me any information when asked.
Today I was placed on hold for eternity by "Nia" for being so annoyed by the stupid way the results of the DNA test were exhibited on a strange map that doesn't exist in
Reality, with no explanation of what three concentric circles mean to my heritage. I
Used the word "hell" and was reprimanded like a naughty little child by Nia. I
Did not call until today since they were having a difficult time due to the hurricane but
Have always been horrified by their announcing "we are unavailable at this time" during normal work hours, their all taking lunch at the same time and this time no intelligible response to my specific question about their confusing concentric circles which are spread all over Europe! How can one being be descended from an entire continent?
"Nia" began giving me BS about how a special gene developed for my supposed group which really tried my patience which was already worn thin. As a result when they find this gene apparently they lump us all together as a "unique" group from
A religion and "rubber stamp us" due to this uniqueness? What about the millions of other genes existent in our DNA? What happened to my Scottish Great grandmother and the Franks and Normans I'm descended from? Can one gene negate everything else you inherited from people in these approximately 15 countries? How can I be descended from what seems to be most of Europe located inside the stupid three concentric circles and be considered from a group due to this "unique" gene that "formed"( Unique being this company's favorite word. How scientific is that? I did not spend my money to become more confused than ever, nor do I have any desire to be unique!
A BS story of a "special gene", not have anyone willing to answer a relatively simple question about their sloppy and ridiculous map presentation or having to deal with arrogant and aggravating customer service reps. Is appalling.
I have the raw DNA but it appears none of the other DNA companies will let me
Transfer it to their services, however my heritage will take your raw DNA from these
Well established services and use you to establish a database. The politics are to
Prove(in my opinion) that people from a certain religious heritage constitute a "nationality" and have a claim to a certain geographic region. These people don't
Know what they're doing, don't know what they're talking about, nor do they care.
I didn't do the test to be matched with people who are at most one percent related to me! There are very few "matches" because they are only interested in using people who are looking for their relatives and are from this "unique" gene. Since I'm
Apparently not so unique they will never find my relatives in their pathetic and biased
Data base. If you question them or get upset with the incompetent service reps they
Will get rid of you in a New York second. Stay away and use your time and money on
A reputable service. I'd like to know where all the genes from all the countries under the ridiculous concentric and unexplained circles were lost in the
Desperation to create a genetically unique new nationality?

I will never write a review on Yelp again and deeply distrust their so-called practice
Of choosing which reviews to recommend and which to not recommend(the ones
"distrusted" by their computer. I wrote 2 positive reviews of my beloved dentist of
23 years, Dr. Meena Shah, who appears to be a victim of an organized effort to bully
Her and her practice. They placed my reviews in the "not recommended" sectiion.
Then they knocked me off of their website and would not allow me to sign in by not
Recognizing my password! I hardly ever write reviews but felt the complaints and
Cynicism exhibited in many reviews both infantile and elitist. There are 39 reviews
Counting mine but Yelp states there are 37, ignoring mine completely. Yelp is a
Ridiculous service which shows favoritism to frequent "yelpers" and doesn't mind
Ruining a small business which I myself have been using for 23 years. Yelp has
A "hipster" quality and allows bullies to gang up on a business who nitpick and
Whine. Dr. Shah is a wonderful dentist and the attacks seem personally motivated.
Since I rarely write reviews their "system doesn't trust my reviews". They show
Favoritism and cannot be trusted. I will go elsewhere to check out a business since
They are trying to appeal to the youth audience. They are not to be taken seriously
But unfortunately they can ruin a business. They make me sick! I will do a separate
Review of her practice later since I'm totally disgusted at this time.