Jackie

A mother of three grown children, this venture capital executive wanted to learn more about her health to take steps to protect herself.

“I wanted to participate in Navigenics' service, because I was interested to see what I could learn about about my health. I wanted to know what conditions I might be predisposed for in the future, so that I could take steps to protect myself.

Jackie has a family history of Alzheimer’s disease and was very concerned about her own risk for developing the disease.

The results of her genome scan were unexpected.

“Alzheimer’s wasn’t a factor for me. I was at low risk. That was a huge relief. But I do have an elevated risk for cardiovascular disease and obesity. I’ve always tried to watch what I eat and get enough exercise. My results gave me more of a reason to eat right and pay more attention to my long-term health.”

Jackie was also able to put one of her other results to use immediately.

“After I received my Navigenics results, which indicated a high risk for glaucoma, I went right in for an eye test that indicated a jump in my eye pressure. Because of my Navigenics results, I knew I had to take it seriously, and I immediately started seeing a specialist for regular monitoring. I’m so glad that we were able to catch this before it became a problem.”

Jackie credits the results of her Navigenics genome scan with spurring her on to take action.

“I hadn’t been paying any attention to my eyes – I had no eye issues at all, nor any family history in that area that I know of.”

Not only was she able to take action to protect her health, Jackie knew she was one of the first people who could do so based on their genetic information.

“It was really exciting to be one of the first people with access to this type of information. I felt like I was on the cutting edge of something. I was so happy that I had the chance to learn more about my health.”

Jackie’s experience with Navigenics has given her a new appreciation of medical information that is directly relevant to her.

“There is a lot of health information out there. Something new keeps popping up every day. We are inundated with new ideas and information and theories every day. Navigenics gave me a source of information that helps me put everything in context. It’s there for me to look at, to come back to, to review, whenever I want. And I do want to go back and spend more time reviewing what I’ve learned.”

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