DEAR DR. GOTT: Thank heavens for your website, since I can get a very important question out to you immediately without using snail mail. While watching the news last evening, I heard about a test kit I can purchase over the counter that will indicate a possible genetic predisposition to such medical problems as Parkinson’s disease and heart trouble. I was informed the kit will cost up to $30, and once a saliva specimen is sent in to the laboratory, the testing will begin at an additional expense of up to $437.

I am not sure I can handle knowing if my world will fall apart around me, or if I should just plug along as I am — blissfully ignorant of what might lie ahead. Or perhaps it is worth double the money just to know. What can you tell me about the idea?
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