AS CHILDREN, MY QUADRUPLET BROTHERS AND I HAD A KNACK FOR GETTING COLLECTIVELY SICK WHENEVER ONE PERSON WOULD FALL ILL. GERMS TRAVELLED AT THE SPEED OF LIGHT BECAUSE WHENEVER THE WORDS LEFT SOMEONE'S MOUTH, THE REST WOULD IMMEDIATELY IDENTIFY WITH THE SAME SYMPTOMS. WHO KNEW EXHAUSTION OR HEADACHES WERE SO CONTAGIOUS?
Of course, the possibility of getting to skip school might have had something to do with it. But, since the inception of my memory, I've felt bonded to my brothers—our existences aligned, and I felt deserving of every item or experience they had. Growing up, we were like four cells crowding around the same nucleus, known as Mum.
But happenstance and adulthood cemented our individuality. I always had a tingling about our innate differences, but I fully stepped into them when I came out as gay. Years later, when one of my brothers was diagnosed with testicular cancer, he was also forced to grapple with the different trajectories of our genetics— respective humanities.
"Does that mean I should get tested?" was regrettably my knee-jerk reaction. But I suppose it was easier than facing my real fear of what that meant for him. Thankfully, my brother caught it early and had surgery to replace the problematic testicle with a prosthetic. He was recently deemed cancer-free for the second year in a row.
However, I still wondered if being a multiple increases your risk of cancer if one of the others gets diagnosed. After all, if a family history of cancer is said to increase your risk, wouldn't your twin's health be the closest reflection of your heritability?
Denne historien er fra April 2023-utgaven av Reader's Digest UK.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent ? Logg på
Denne historien er fra April 2023-utgaven av Reader's Digest UK.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
EVERY SECOND COUNTS: TIPS TO WIN THE RACE AGAINST TIME
Do you want to save 1.5 seconds every day of your life? According to the dishwasher expert at the consumer organisation Choice, there’s no need to insert the dishwashing tablet into the compartment inside the door.
May Fiction
An escaped slave's perspective renews Huckleberry Finn and the seconds tick down to nuclear Armageddon in Miriam Sallon’s top literary picks this month
Wine Not
In a time of warning studies about alcohol consumption, Paola Westbeek looks at non-alcoholic wines, how they taste and if they pair with food
Train Booking Hacks
With the cost of train travel seemingly always rising, Andy Webb gives some tips to save on ticket prices
JOURNEY TO SALTEN, NORWAY, UNDER THE MIDNIGHT SUN
Here, far from the crowds, in opal clarity, from May to September, the sun knows no rest. As soon as it’s about to set, it rises again
My Britain: Cheltenham
A YEAR IN CHELTENHAM sees a jazz festival, a science festival, a classical music festival and a literature festival. Few towns with 120,000 residents can boast such a huge cultural output!
GET A GREEN(ER) THUMB
Whether you love digging in the dirt, planting seeds and reaping the bounty that bursts forth, or find the whole idea of gardening intimidating, this spring offers the promise of a fresh start.
Under The GRANDFLUENCE Suzi Grant
After working in TV and radio as an author and nutritionist, Suzi Grant started a blog alternativeageing.net) and an Instagram account alternativeageing). She talks to Ian Chaddock about positive ageing”
Sam Quek: If I Ruled The World
Sam Quek MBE is an Olympic gold medalwinning hockey player, team captain on A Question of Sport and host of podcast series Amazing Starts Here
Stand Tall, Ladies
Shorter men may be having their moment, but where are the tall women?