Category: Patient

  • What Can I Do Until My Children Can Be Tested?

    Dealing with your own BRCA1 or BRCA2 genetic testing results is one thing, but worrying about testing for your children is another. Especially when they are under 18 years old.

  • When should my children be tested for hereditary cancer?

    When I was a clinical genetic counselor, each patient that I met with for genetic counseling had some different questions about how their positive genetic test results could impact their care or that of their family members. A common theme among patients who had children was that they wanted to know if, when, and how their children should be tested for…

  • Patient Advocacy Groups: How Can They Help?

    In several of our posts, the importance of support throughout one’s cancer journey has been discussed. Eve Mart has discussed how she received support from friends and family following her diagnosis of breast cancer, as well as her experience providing support to others. We’ve also offered thoughts from a healthcare provider’s perspective, as Deepti Babu wrote about here. I want to continue that…

  • Peer Support

    I hadn’t set out to be the “go-to-girl” for all things breast cancer, but when you’re faced with a challenge and come out on the other side fairing pretty well, I think people trust you. Maybe they’re just looking for positive support wherever they can, when they find themselves in a similarly difficult spot. It starts with…

  • How Laws Protect Genetic Information ( Original)

    There are many different things to consider when deciding whether to have genetic testing. In addition to the impact of the test results on your physical and emotional health and that of your family members (more on that here), you should also consider your insurance coverage and the possibility of discrimination. When I met with patients as a…

  • Hang on a Minute, Let’s Think This Through

    After testing positive for a mutation in my BRCA2 gene, I was on high alert. I rushed to all my doctor’s appointments and gathered a lot of information regarding preventive surgery options.

  • The Buddy System: It Works for Hereditary Cancer, Too ( original)

    We’ve covered a lot of territory with this blog, so thank you for coming on the ride with us. Theresa Smith recently talked about her experience of sharing her genetic test results with her family, and we offered a genetic counselor’s perspective on the same idea. This time, we’re focusing more on you – we’re exploring the idea of building a…

  • Supporting Friends and Family through their Cancer Journey

    Support for me came in a variety of forms and in varying degrees from virtual strangers on internet message boards, acquaintances, co-workers, friends, and family.

  • It’s Complicated: Sharing Your Genetic Test Results (Original)

    I feel funny writing about sharing genetic test results when I’ve never done it myself, but don’t let that stop you from reading…

  • These are my genetic test results… please don’t shoot the messenger.

    People absorb potentially troubling medical information at different paces. I continue to follow up with the resistant ones. Why do I bug them? Because this is really important family medical information they need to know about.