The Skinny on Melanin

 The poster can be downloaded at

www.MendelCat.com/melanin

Do You Know Peas and Q's about Genes and Hereditary Cancer?

As a hereditary cancer widower, advocate, and parent of a previvor, I know genetic knowledge and genetic testing can save lives. Being a professional creative with decades of experience producing educational materials, I created this primer about genetics and hereditary cancer to help raise awareness. It’s my attempt to try and make an extremely complex subject a little easier to grasp for anyone interested.

A PDF version can be downloaded at www.genetionary.org. A professionally published edition is also available gratis on a limited basis.

When I was my late wife's hereditary cancer caregiver, I often found myself trying to explain to others about her diagnosis, how her cancer could have been prevented had her family shared info, and how our adult child ended up with the exact same BRCA2 mutation as her mother. But I quickly realized that many people lack a basic understanding of genetics, genetic inheritance, and cancer. So, being a professional illustrator with decades of experience creating educational materials, I started drawing pictures to help explain it.

I felt the hereditary cancer infographics I had created should to be openly shared. So I created Genetionary.org, an ad-free site with a simple genetic mutation glossary, my infographics, and materials for sharing family health/cancer history. My goal is to help raise more awareness about hereditary cancer and to help encourage families to communicate about health history. Especially if that history involves cancer.

For more detailed information about genetic mutations, or if you have questions about your own hereditary cancer risk, please talk to your doctor and/or a certified genetic counselor.

Your DNA and the World

There’s a tiny thin thread that connects us all.

Mendel G. Cat’s DNA book has more info. For ages 6 and up. www.MendelCat.com

Peas on Earth

Coyote Claus Read by a Ranger

Since it's Christmas Eve, I thought I share this. It's another fun read of a book I illustrated that features my treasured Sonoran Desert flora and fauna in a holiday story that, according to the publisher, "brings the cultural heritage of the Sonoran Desert to life through the familiar genre of Clement C. Moore’s A Visit from St. Nicholas."

(Clement C. Moore is a distant cousin, BTW. But that's a VERY long story for another time.)

More info about the book here:
https://sunbeltpublications.com/shop/coyote-claus/

The video is here in case the embedded version above is not working:
https://youtu.be/96IMyQDXihU

Best of the season to all my hereditary cancer advocate and genomic and genetic scientist friends and acquaintances.

(Yup, the cartoon is pretty goofy. But did you know that quirky humor can spark curiosity and interest in science?* And there are actual scientific studies to back it up.) 

*“No kidding.” said the whimsical illustrator who spent a good chunk of his decades-long freelance career illustrating scientific concepts for kids' magazines and books.