What is Genetic counseling for Cancer?

Genetic counseling offers you a way to learn how likely you are to develop cancer. This is useful for individuals who have close family members affected by this disease.

Interestingly, only 5 to 10% of all cancers are linked to genes. In most cases, genetic testing may be required only when certain types of cancer run in a family and a problem with a gene is known to be the cause.

What happens in a genetic counseling session?

In a typical genetic counseling session, the doctor would seek information such as:

• Ages of your family members
• Their relationship with you
• Whether they are on the mother's side or the father's side of the family
• What types of cancer your relatives have had
• The age they were diagnosed at

Genetic counselors will:

• Evaluate the individual's personal & family cancer history
• Analyse individual's inherited cancer risk
• Simplify the concepts of genetics & hereditary cancer risks
• Empower the individual to make an informed decision
• Address the individual's queries & concerns

When should you consider genetic counseling?

• Multiple close relatives such as mother, father sisters, or brothers with cancer
• Multiple people on one side of the family have had the same type of cancer
• Different cancers in the family are linked to a problem with a single gene such as certain types of breast cancer, ovarian cancer, colorectal cancer, or pancreatic cancer
• A family member diagnosed with more than one type of cancer
• Cancer diagnosis in family members at a younger age than normal
• A family member found to have a genetic mutation that enhances the risk of cancer

Based on this information, your risk of cancer may be categorized into:

• Low risk: This implies the risk is same as anyone without a family history of cancer.
• Moderate risk: Your risk of certain types of cancer is higher than average. It is unlikely that there is an inherited gene that you can be tested for.
• High risk: You have a higher risk of developing some cancer types in your lifetime. This does not imply that you will definitely get cancer. It simply means that there may be an inherited cancer gene that can be tested for in your family.

Dr. G Vamshi Krishna Reddy is an experienced & highly skilled medical oncologist who treats patients with the utmost care & compassion. He has successfully treated patients with different types of cancers through a personalized treatment approach.