Genetic Counseling & Genetic Testing for Cancer
Genetic counseling and testing for cancer help you and your family better understand your inherited cancer risk. As a part of delivering precision medicine and a personalized approach to cancer care, Dignity Health – Cancer Institute at St. Joseph’s Hospital and Medical Center has a highly-trained clinical genetic counseling service. Genetic counselors meet with patients and family members and discuss the different conditions that your or a family member might be diagnosed with, and discuss whether or not there’s a genetic background to them. As a part of genetic counseling, information can be shared about appropriate options for cancer screening, prevention, and treatment. Genetic counselors also discuss the implications for other family members and provide support.
When Is Genetic Counseling Needed
As powerful as genetic testing can be in personalized cancer treatment, it’s not right for every cancer, or every patient, or every family member. You might want to consider speaking with a genetic counselor when you become aware of:
- Your own cancer diagnosis
- A family member’s diagnosis
- A family history
- An identified genetic mutation
What Are The Benefits of Genetic Counseling
With the personalized medicine that we provide at Dignity Health – Cancer Institute at St. Joseph’s, genetic testing can play a role in how we tailor care to the individual. Through the genetic counseling we provide, we are able to have a positive impact on the care and treatment of our patients through:
- Proactive screening
- Early detection
- Personalized treatment options
- Elimination of ineffective treatment options
- Treatment and/or screening options
- Influence of surgical and chemotherapy options
- Implications for other family members
What we do in genetic counseling is help patients understand the potential impact of genetic testing and the test results, the potential benefits and how it could impact other family members as well.”
Karen Dirrigl, MS
Genetic Counselor
