Genes and Jeans

I was trying to convince the kids to eat their freshly-picked garden tomatoes at lunch yesterday but to no avail.  Our discussion went from lycopene to cancer and then Melody (our family disease-a-phobe) asked how people got cancer.  We then talked about risk factors and genes. 

 

"You mean people have cancer in their genes?"  Melody asked.  "Does OUR family have cancer in OUR genes?" 

 

Five-year-old Roman, listening quietly to this conversation, suddenly had an astonished look on his face.  With bulging eyes and then relief he looked down at the jersey shorts he was wearing and then announced, "WHAT?  Our family has CANCER in our jeans????  I am NEVER wearing JEANS again!!!" 

 

And then everyone ate their tomatoes.