Who benefits from cancer genetic counseling?
Patients come to cancer genetic counseling for many reasons. NCGenetics meets each patient wherever they are in their personal and/or family cancer journey. Genetic counseling does not require you to pursue genetic testing. NCGenetics will help you decide (or confirm your decision if you think you already know you want to test) if you want to have genetic testing for hereditary cancer risk and the extent of testing you wish to pursue. It's a personal decision and you are unique!
Take a look at the questions below and see what fits you best. Learn more about why you may benefit from cancer genetic counseling.
Do you have cancer?
If you already have cancer, knowing if there is a hereditary cause may impact your cancer treatment, inform your risk of other cancer risk and can provide useful information for your family. Based on your specific cancer, and personal health history, cancer genetic counseling can help you understand the national recommendations for your care. If you were already treated for your cancer in the past, you may have increased risk for other cancers and there may still be steps you can take to catch cancer early or reduce cancer risk.
Do you have a family history of cancer?
If you have a family history of cancer, you may be at increased risk for cancer due to a hereditary cause or due to shared familial risk factors undetectable by genetic testing. Cancer genetic counseling can help you better understand your cancer risk and take steps to catch cancer early or reduce the risks.
Do you have a mutation in a cancer risk gene or have one in your family?
If you have a family member with a mutation (pathogenic variant) in a cancer risk gene you are also at risk to carry it. Cancer genetic counseling can help you better understand your risk and take steps to catch cancer early or reduce cancer risks. If you've already had genetic testing and want to learn more about the meaning of the result, NCGenetics can provide post-test counseling. If you have had your tumor testing and a mutation was identified NCGenetics can determine if hereditary testing is warranted.
Are you curious about your cancer risk?
If you are curious or concerned about your cancer risk because you don't know your biological family history or just want more information, cancer genetic counseling can help you better understand the likelihood of having a hereditary cancer syndrome. While your insurance may not cover genetic testing, several labs charge $250 for extensive cancer genetic testing. If you are found to carry a mutation, cancer genetic counseling can help you better understand your cancer risks and the steps you can take to catch cancer early or reduce cancer risk.
Have you already had hereditary cancer genetic testing?
Your genetic testing results may be out of date. If you did not have multi-gene testing (for example, only tested the BRCA genes but no others), or had incomplete multi-gene testing, cancer genetic counseling can inform you of the new testing options and help you decide the extent of testing, if any, you wish to pursue.
If you have a personal or close family history of any of the following you meet medical criteria for genetic counseling/testing:
Ovarian cancer
Advanced/metastatic prostate cancer
Pancreatic cancer
Rare tumors such as male breast cancer, pheochromocytoma, paragangiloma, medullary thyroid cancer
Metastatic breast cancer (patient only)
Breast, uterine or colon cancer diagnosed at age 50 or younger
Close family member with cancer gene mutation (pathogenic variant)
Hereditary cancer risk factors also include:
Multiple close family members on the same side of the family with the same or related cancers (ex. breast and ovarian; colon and uterine)
Two or more primary cancer diagnosed in the same individual
Rare cancers or tumors such as male breast cancer, triple negative breast cancer, medullary thyroid cancer, adrenocortical carcinoma, pheochromocytoma, or sarcoma
Multiple colon polyps
Ashkenazi Jewish (Eastern European) ancestry and breast, ovarian, prostate or pancreatic
About hereditary cancer
About 10% of all cancer is hereditary which means there is a genetic change (also known as mutation or pathogenic variant) passed from parent to child which explains the cancer.
Over 75 different genes have been identified related to increased cancer risk including the BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes related to hereditary breast cancer and the mismatch repair genes (MLH1, MS2, PMS2, MSH6) related to a hereditary colorectal and uterine cancer syndrome known as Lynch syndrome. Labs can evaluate multiple genes related to hereditary cancer at the same time through multi-gene next generation testing.
For patients
Individually tailored cancer genetic counseling
NCGenetics is passionate about meeting you wherever you are along your cancer journey. Whether you have cancer yourself, a family history of cancer, a known mutation in your family or you're curious about your cancer risk, NCGenetics tailors cancer genetic counseling and cancer genetic testing to meet your needs.
Benefits of NCGenetics private practice genetic counseling include:
Schedule without long wait times
Meet from the comfort of your home at a time convenient for you (yes there are evening hours!)
Let family members join your appointment from near or far
Experienced genetic counselor with over tens years as a certified genetic counselor specializing in cancer genetics
Genetic counseling process
Telegenetics services
Meet by secure video on your mobile device or computer. If you're not comfortable with video calls, your regular phone works too!
Your genetic testing sample can be provided by saliva or blood with phlebotomy services sent to your home or work without additional charge.
NCGenetics hopes to obtain office space in northern Westchester County in the near future