Genetic Cancer Testing and Counseling

The St. Mary’s Tesiero Cancer Center is dedicated to helping you and your family learn about your potential risk for a hereditary form of cancer, through possible genetic testing, so that you can make informed decisions about managing your health.

We provide genetic counseling to help individuals determine their risk for inheriting mutations that may cause certain types of hereditary cancer and to take steps to manage those risks. Signs that your family may have a hereditary cancer include:

• Cancer diagnosis before age 50
• Multiple close family members with the same type of cancer or related cancers
• Two or more cancer diagnoses in the same individual, such as breast cancer in both breasts
• Certain rare tumors or cancers, such as male breast cancer, ovarian cancer, pancreatic cancer or metastatic prostate cancer
• Family ethnicity tied to a specific type of cancer (for example, Ashkenazi Jewish ancestry is linked to ovarian and breast cancers)

If you or your family tree shows these signs of hereditary cancer, you may benefit from genetic counseling.