Twins that dreadfully lost their mother to a rare genetic cancer might have inherited the genetic error and is now in the search for possible cures. Jennie Chinembiri and her brother James Williamson, the twins have undergone gruelling treatment after they discovered that they were carriers of the genetic error that took their mother’s life. Their mother died in 2003 to phaeochromocytoma.
This cancer has been killing some of the Scottish people for years. The twins, 36 are anxious to find a cure since their next generation could also be at risk. Jennie lives in Penicuik, near Edinburgh, with her husband, Ainslie, 34, and her two kids, Anathswa, three, and son Kupa, two. Jennie has undergone radiotherapy for an inoperable tumor that grew so large in her neck that almost stopped her from breathing. She had the treatment five months before Kupa was born.
The radiotherapy stopped the tumor from growing, but the doctor said that it was too close to the jugular vein to remove it. Now Jennie is at risk to develop more tumors in the other parts of her body. This is believed to be caused by the genetic error she inherited from her mother.
Jennie said that she is hoping and praying that her children do not carry the faulty gene. But if they do she is willing to make extensive efforts to find cures. She also hopes they do not develop any kind of tumor. When she was undergoing the radiotherapy she was so worried that she might not see her children. She remembers that it was difficult when her mother died. However, doctors advised the family to wait until the children are older before they are tested for any possibilities of being a carrier of the genetic error.
According to the Mirror Online, The twins have the SDHB gene, which can trigger pheochromocytoma tumors. Their older sister Katie, 40, and brother Johnnie, 38, are both clear and not at risk. The twins’ mother, Sue, who died of phaeochromocytoma died when she was 57. According to the Medscape, a pheochromocytoma is a rare catecholamine-secreting tumor that may cause life-threatening hypertension. The twins are hoping to find cures not only for themselves, but also for their future generations.
