Damn the Man, save lives.

I’m having one of my “I hate Myriad” moments, and as unreasonable as these moments may often be, I felt the need to share.  Today on my “BRCA” google alerts, an article came up showing how Myriad’s stock shot up because of recent research that came out which may result in doctors recommending that more women be tested for the BRCA mutations.  I mean, I know that it makes sense that their stock would go up if their product is going to be in higher demand, but really, honestly, who patents a gene?? I still don’t even understand the concept fully; all I know is that patenting genes inhibits research AND it allows Myriad to keep the cost of the full BRCAnalysis at $3,000.  They can charge whatever the F#$* they want if they own the friggin’ gene people!  How else will we figure out our sadly mutated condition??   They also MARKET the test, which drives me insane.  Putting commercials on that make everyone think they should have this test is absolutely ludicrous.  This is not candy- this is a test that should only be recommended by your doctor and a genetic counselor after very thorough intake.

I feel like this is an exceedingly unfair assesment of Myriad, especially since they did pinpoint the gene and make the testing available, which has changed many lives.  But they’re definitely taking advantage of their position to make lots of money, and this just seems silly when you’re talking about profiting off of people’s misfortune.  This is why privatized healthcare is so bizarre!  It just doesn’t make sense that the sicker people are, the more money people make.  That just CANNOT lead to a fair system in which everyones’ health is top priority.

I apologize for the rant.  Maybe I should do some real research and write something a little bit more coherent.  Oh well, I deserve an angry outburst now and then.