This is the sixteenth installment in our series, “Trailblazing Genetic Counselors”, in which we highlight genetic counselors who are pioneers in the field. Genetic counselors are health professionals with specialized graduate degrees and experience in the areas of...
Mary Ellen always knew that her family history included cancer. Her mom was diagnosed with breast cancer in her 50s and died in her 60s. Early-onset breast cancer, prostate cancer, and possible ovarian cancers were seen in aunts, uncles, and cousins. So, it was not...
The National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) provides guidelines to help determine who should have genetic testing for hereditary cancers and how individuals should be followed after testing. They recently published updates to these guidelines that we’ve...
When we read about genetic testing in the mainstream media, we often think of the testing Angelina Jolie had, called germline genetic testing. This analysis looks for genetic variants (differences) in our DNA that we are born with and are found in most of the cells in...
Genetic Counseling Note: TP53 is a gene located on chromosome 17p that is often mutated, or changed, in tumors. However, some people are born carrying one mutation in the TP53 gene in all of their cells. These mutations are called germline mutations,...
