A Shared Journey: How Her Dad’s Diagnosis Led to Her Own Discovery

Giselle looking at a family photo album (Photo: The Family History Road Trip) Imagine a family gathering, where laughter and stories intertwine with shared meals and cherished traditions. Amidst the joyous chatter, there’s a unique opportunity, one often overlooked yet profoundly impactful – the chance to delve into your family’s health history. This is the essence of the “Family Health History Road Trip”, a journey of discovery and advocacy launched by Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, Inc. that aims to change lives by facilitating conversations about hereditary ATTR (hATTR) amyloidosis within families. “It’s designed to raise awareness of the hereditary nature of this disease something that people don’t normally talk about,” Bennett says of the program. “The goal is to drive family health history conversations in any way possible to get families to start talking. This is an inherent disease – this is something that folks need to understand for early diagnosis because this is a very progressive [disease].  It moves very quickly so if you can get an early diagnosis, you can get early treatment. We are hoping that this conversation will stimulate individuals to take action much quicker.” BlackDoctor.org interviewed Bernice Bennett, the genealogist and health educator guiding the program, and...