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.

    It happens at this time every year; a lot of random people on social media suddenly become “experts” about some of my ancestors. Sigh. But here’s a story you probably won’t hear elsewhere…

    This disheveled and despondent-looking Pilgrim is Dorothy (May) Bradford. She’s my first cousin (10x removed). She somehow fell off the Mayflower and drowned while the ship was anchored in the calm waters of what is now known as Cape Cod Bay. Dorothy was only 23 years old. Besides her historically notable husband, she also left behind a toddler, who had been left behind with family in the Netherlands because the voyage was deemed too dangerous.

    Dorothy was the niece of fellow Mayflower passenger William White, my 9th great-grandfather. At the time of Dorothy’s death, she was married to William Bradford, who would later become the governor of the Plymouth colony. 

    Bet you never learned about Dorothy in history class. Nobody ever talks about Dorothy. 

Here are some other Mayflower items related to my ancestry…

-- Less than 40 of the 102 passengers of the Mayflower were actually what we call Pilgrims. And 13 of those Pilgrims were either my ancestors or cousins. (BTW, use of the word “Pilgrim” as applied to Mayflower passengers is attributed to William Bradford. He refers to himself as a pilgrim in a poem he penned.)

-- William White, my 9th great-grandfather, died during the “general sickness” that first winter.  Nearly half of all the other Mayflower passengers died that first winter at Plymouth as well.

-- My 9th great-grandmother, Susanna White, is one of only four women of the Mayflower to survive that first winter. She likely helped prepare the very first Thanksgiving dinner the following year.

-- On November 20th, 1620, while still onboard the Mayflower, Susanna gave birth to Peregrine White, my eighth great-granduncle. He was the first child born to the Pilgrims in the “New World*.”

-- Resolved White, the first-born son of William and Susanna, older brother of Peregrine, and my 8th great-grandfather, was only 5-years-old when he sailed with his parents on the Mayflower.

Some more information about the Mayflower voyage can be found on my website at www.markix.net/mayflower

* I use “New World” with a touch of irony; I also have Native American ancestors. Some of my family was already part of the “New World.” Also, BTW, my family’s role in American History is not limited to the Mayflower. 

My painting is 11” x 15” gouache on illustration board. It was originally intended to be part of a Mayflower book project, but that project was put on hold.

(Genealogy screenshots from WikiTree.com)

With the exception of my Native American heritage for really depressing reasons, my family history is well-documented. I have a boatload of notable genetic relatives. And sadly, Dorothy is not the only tragic historical figure in my family tree. There’s a lot of messy and ugly history among some of the branches.