Have you ever wondered about your risk for developing breast cancer? Genetic counseling can provide an assessment of your personal risk for developing breast and other related cancers as well as an individualized plan for follow up and preventative care.

Kara Milliron, a board certified genetic counselor at the Breast and Ovarian Cancer Risk Evaluation Program at the University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center, coordinates the clinic and provides genetic counseling for patients. Milliron says, “The role of a genetic counselor is that of a patient advocate and educator. Even before a high-risk patient makes any decisions regarding [genetic] testing, Dr. Merajver [the program’s director] and I will review the family history and try to determine what the potential risks are to that individual for either having the genetic condition and/or passing it on to future generations.”

A counseling session typically takes two hours. Counselors discuss the risks, benefits and limitations to genetic testing. Some patients decline genetic testing to determine if they have the genes (BRCA 1 and 2) associated with breast and ovarian cancer. Typically, these patients don’t want to know that they are at such great risk and others are concerned about possible discrimination for life or disability insurance because of their high-risk status.

In her eight years with the program, Milliron has witnessed a number of advances. Patients are seeking answers earlier, there are more interventions to prevent cancer and improved screening (magnetic resonance imaging, more commonly known as MRI) can help detect breast cancers in high-risk women at a much earlier stage than other methods of screening. Milliron says, “We are making advances at decreasing morbidity and mortality in high-risk patients.”

For more information about the University of Michigan Breast and Ovarian Cancer Risk Evaluation Program, call: (800) 865-1125 or (734) 764-0107 or visit www.cancer.med.umich.edu/prevention/index.shtml.