Episode 4: Cancer in the Family? What You Need to Know About Hereditary Risk
Release Date: 10/29/2024
Informed Consent & Prenatal Genetic Testing
Genetic Frontiers
“Informed consent” has long been held up as the gold standard of patient care in Western medicine. In this episode of Genetic Frontiers, Blair Stevens, MS, CGC, Director of Prenatal Genetic Counseling Services at McGovern Medical School at UTHealth Houston talks about what informed consent means when it comes to making hundreds of choices about genetic testing around pregnancy. She also discusses the computer module a team at UTHealth Houston created to support prenatal genetic decision-making and the genetic counseling process. KEY TOPICS Introduction to the history of informed...
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Episode 4: Cancer in the Family? What You Need to Know About Hereditary Risk
Genetic Frontiers
Episode Summary In this episode, Lisa Schlager, the Vice President of Public Policy at FORCE, a national advocacy organization, discusses genetic testing, prevention, treatment, and legal protections for people at risk for hereditary cancer. KEY TOPICS Introduction: concerns of people at risk of hereditary cancer; FORCE, a national advocacy organization; and Lisa Schlager, VP of Public Policy at FORCE [00:00 - 3:15] Tell us about your personal journey with hereditary cancer, and how you got involved in advocacy work? [3:15 - 11:23] What is GINA, the Federal Genetic...
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Episode 3: Prenatal Genetic Counseling Unlike Therapy in Any Other Setting
Genetic Frontiers
Episode Summary In this episode, Kendra Schaa, ScM, LGC, a prenatal genetic counselor at a major medical center talks about the importance of the therapeutic model in meeting patients where they are. She also discusses how prenatal genetic counseling is influenced by the profession’s roots in biology over psychology, the skyrocketing number of genetic tests, and the overturning of Roe v. Wade. Full episode & transcript at: https://www.geneticfrontiers.org/episode3-kendra-schaa KEY TOPICS Introduction to personal story of prenatal genetic counseling and history of genetic counseling...
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Episode 2: How DNA Testing is Shaking Up the Sperm Banking Industry
Genetic Frontiers
In this episode of Genetic Frontiers, Katie Lee Hornberger, a certified genetic counselor with the Seattle Sperm Bank talks about how genetic testing has shaken up the sperm banking industry. DNA testing has changed everything, forcing the industry to move from a paradigm that prized anonymity towards one of greater transparency about biological relationships, genetic risks, and family medical history. Go to episode details on KEY TOPICS Introduction to the sperm banking industry Introduction to Katie Lee Hornberger, CGC How has genetic testing changed the sperm banking...
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Episode 1: Finding Meaning in Life & Genetics
Genetic Frontiers
In this episode, Nerine Gregersen, MD, a former pediatrician, clinical geneticist, and logotherapist, discusses how learning genetic information about oneself can have profound emotional and existential impacts. She talks about how logotherapy, a form of psychotherapy that emphasizes finding meaning as people’s primary motivation, can help support people navigating difficult diagnoses or profound life shifts triggered by genetic discoveries. Go to episode details on
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Episode 0: Living at Risk
Genetic Frontiers
In this episode of Genetic Frontiers, host, Susanna Smith, MPH, shares her personal story of living as a previvor of an incurable, genetic disease, which is part of the impetus for the podcast and at the center of a book she is working on. Get episode details on .
info_outlineEpisode Summary
In this episode, Lisa Schlager, the Vice President of Public Policy at FORCE, a national advocacy organization, discusses genetic testing, prevention, treatment, and legal protections for people at risk for hereditary cancer.
KEY TOPICS
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Introduction: concerns of people at risk of hereditary cancer; FORCE, a national advocacy organization; and Lisa Schlager, VP of Public Policy at FORCE [00:00 - 3:15]
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Tell us about your personal journey with hereditary cancer, and how you got involved in advocacy work? [3:15 - 11:23]
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What is GINA, the Federal Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act, and what protections does it offer–and fail to offer—for people living at risk of genetic disease? [11:23-14:01]
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How FORCE is advocating with state legislatures to expand anti-discrimination protections beyond those offered by federal law? [14:01 - 16:50]
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What are some specific examples of issues you're working on at FORCE to help make sure that people living at risk of hereditary cancer get the healthcare they need? [16:50 - 20:01]
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What does Medicare cover when it comes to genetic testing for hereditary cancer? [20:02 - 22:06]
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Why is it so important for healthcare providers and people to understand if they have a risk of developing hereditary cancer? [22:07 - 24:50]
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What are some resources for people who are concerned that cancer in their family could be hereditary? [24:50 - 26:33]
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What can healthcare providers do to help people understand and respond to the potential inherited risks of cancer? [26:34 - 30:53]
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Wrap-up [30:54 - 32:18]