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Tuesday, 6 November 2007

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Fiona Phillips: I don't want to know if I'll get Alzheimer's

TV presenter chose not to find out if she might inherit the disease

GMTV presenter Fiona Phillips says she'd rather not know if she's likely to inherit Alzheimer's, the disease that killed her mother.

'When I was given the opportunity to find out whether I am genetically predisposed to the same condition, I faced perhaps the most agonising decision of my life,' she says.

Fiona, 46, took part in ITV1's The Killer in Me to discover what likely medical conditions were hidden in her genes, including heart disease and osteoporosis.

But when it came to hearing the results of the Alzheimer's test, she chose not to find out.

'As I sat in the consulting room, knowing I was within touching distance of learning my fate, I couldn't go through with it,' Fiona tells the Daily Mirror.

'It was too much, too personal. What would be the point?

'With Alzheimer's there's no cure, only distressing inevitability. In this case, ignorance is definitely bliss.'

Katie Evans