FLHO's Cancer Risk Assessment Program offers evaluation and genetic testing to help you assess your risk of certain cancers. A doctor or nurse practitioner is available to assess and counsel those who may be at higher risk of developing certain cancers based on their personal and family histories.

If the assessment indicates an increased cancer risk, counseling includes discussion of cancer risk management strategies and options for genetic testing. Risk counseling may also provide reassurance if cancer risk is found to be less than the person anticipated.

Our goal is to provide individual risk assessment that can be incorporated into your medical care and assist in future treatment decisions. The confidentiality of each individual and family is respected and protected.

Cancer risk assessment and genetic testing services are often covered by insurance plans and Medicare. Our billing office will be happy to help determine if this risk assessment is covered by your plan.

Hereditary Cancers

Some families share a common genetic factor or altered gene that is inherited from generation to generation. People in these families may have an increased risk of developing certain types of cancer.

Approximately ten percent of breast, ovarian, and colon cancers are caused by altered inherited genes. By identifying those who carry a "cancer susceptibility gene," physicians can offer options to reduce risk and/or help insure the cancer will be detected and treated early.

Through this service some individuals are reassured to learn that their own cancer risk is lower than expected.

There are multiple steps required in the genetic testing process and include:

An in-depth assessment of personal health history.
Evaluation of family cancer history.
Individual and family risk assessment.
Genetic testing, when indicated.
Interpretation of genetic test results and impact on medical management.

Who Should Consider Genetic Cancer Testing

Your risk of cancer may be affected if you have two or more of the following situations in your family history involving breast, ovarian, colon, and/or melanoma:

Cancer in two or more first or second degree relatives. A first degree relative is a parent, sibling or offspring. A second degree relative is a grandparent, grandchild, uncle, aunt, nephew, niece, or half-sibling.
Cancer in three or more successive generations of the family.
Onset of cancer before age 45.
Multiple primary tumors in the same individual. A primary tumor is one that is at the original site where it first arose, as opposed to a tumor that spread ("metastasized").
Cancer in a relative not usually expected to be at risk for that type of cancer such as male breast cancer.

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Genetic Terms

A gene is the functional and physical unit of heredity passed from parent to offspring. Genes are pieces of DNA, and most genes contain the information for making a specific protein.

Genetics is a term that refers to the study of genes and their role in inheritance—the way certain traits or conditions are passed down from one generation to another.

Genomics is a relatively new term that describes the study of all of a person's genes including interactions of those genes with each other and the person's environment.

A genetic disorder is a disease caused in whole or in part by a "variation" (a different form) or "mutation" (alteration) of a gene. We are learning that nearly all diseases have a genetic component.

Some diseases, including many cancers, are caused by a mutation in a gene or group of genes in the cells of an individual. Such mutations can occur randomly or due to some environmental exposure (such as cigarette smoke).