Some sad news
Chris Hemsworth: Alzheimer’s risk prompts actor to take acting break - BBC News
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Testing gets better and better, if you can afford it. I just was made aware that I have very very early 20 years down the line cataracts.
Thanks science! 
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That’s a fairly extreme reaction, but within his own rights to take a break for any reason.
He’s only gotten a heightened risk due to a gene at this point. If we all knew our genes we probably wouldn’t leave the house.
Maybe that saying has lost its meaning after the last couple of years.
I took a break from working, though. Fair play to him, hope he enjoys whatever he’s gonna get up to.
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Amen.
I’m sorry but to think this is sad is absolutely ridiculous. He doesn’t have Alzheimer’s. He is at increased risk because of the variant of a gene. Many of us have this and you can find out from any DNA test.
I have a slight increased risk of late onset Alzheimer’s based on a DNA test. That doesn’t mean I’m going to quit my job over it.
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Nowadays you can. Just spit in a cup and send it off.
He probably has enough money to live several lives. The strange thing is not why he has decided to take a break. The strange thing is why not more people in a similar or even better economic situation don’t decide the same.
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This is what I was thinking.
So his extreme reaction seems odd. Either it’s just publicity, or the media is hyping it up, or he has a serious scare about something.
What can you do with this information so far ahead of time?
If you want to feel sorry for someone feel sorry for Michael J. Fox, Bruce Willis, Christina Applegate. All of whom have been diagnosed with a disease like Parkinson’s, MS that is actually impacting their career.
I imagine the next headline will read:
“Jason Mamoa - gene detected for gluten allergy in DNA test. Women everywhere commence week of mourning.”
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I’m thinking Hemsworth probably wanted to take a break from his acting career anyway, and this was just a convenient excuse.
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What’s the opposite of senility? I might have it.
Maybe people could start using these sort of gene based excuses in Taiwan when they quit instead of the old, “quitting to look after my parents”. Spice it up a little bit. “I’m quitting because I have BRCA1 and an elevated homocysteine level. Seeya.” (I just made that up by the way, probably medically meaningless).
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Infantility?
Wow, I totally bought it.
You’re just on a birthday cake sugar high aren’t you?
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Wonder if the boss will buy this one.
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Don’t sell yourself short. There are plenty of self-taught medical experts out there these days and you can too. All you need is a good ear for jargon and you’re good to go.
Maybe I misunderstand what I read, but I think he got the “bad gene marker” from both his mother AND father, which means he’s 10X as likely to develop the disease.
This may be worse than some of you are making out.
- About 1 in 9 age 65 and older (10.7%) has Alzheimer’s.
- Almost two-thirds of Americans with Alzheimer’s are women.
- Older Black Americans are about twice as likely to have Alzheimer’s or other dementias as older Whites.
- Older Hispanics are about one and one-half times as likely to have Alzheimer’s or other dementias as older Whites.
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Likely to develop at some point in the future and already having the disease are two different things!
Most people if they live long enough will develop cancer. So I guess we should just give up now.
I don’t think he’s giving up. He is taking a break from work to spend more time with his family. He has three kids that are under 12 and a wife.
He has enough money, and his grandfather has Alzheimer’s, so he probably knows how awful it is.
My stepfather and his father died of Alzheimer’s. For my stepfather, he had 7 years from diagnosis to death, but the quality of life in those years went down fast, and the quality of the last few years was really bad. After 4 years, he didn’t know what year it was or what state he was in. A bit later, he didn’t know his own wife’s name.
So, pretend you’re 39 with US$100 million plus in the bank. Would you take a break from work to spend more time with your family? I might.
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