GI Cancer Genetics & Prevention Program
Located at Smilow Cancer Hospital, the Cancer Genetics and Prevention Program is composed of an interdisciplinary team that includes geneticists, genetic counselors, physicians, and nurses who work together with the goal of providing patients with personalized cancer risk assessment and taking steps to prevent the development of cancer.
Our clinical team is committed to providing a comprehensive plan to help assist patients and their families with all aspects of the risk assessment and testing process, surveillance, surgical decision-making, and follow-up care.
Our Approach
If patients are considered at risk for a familial or hereditary cancer, they will receive genetic counseling and testing so that informed medical decisions can be based on their own personal risk assessment. Individuals not suspected of having a genetic predisposition also receive personalized information on how to lower cancer risk. These interventions can have a huge impact on a person’s life by allowing them to better manage their health and reduce their risk of ever developing cancer.
If patients’ personal and/or family history meets any of the listed risk factors, they can benefit from our program’s personalized risk assessment and a discussion of the risks and benefits of testing options.
The following people may be at risk for a hereditary or familial cancer:
- A personal or family history of early-onset cancer (younger than 45-50 years)
- Multiple family members on the same side of the family with the same or related cancers
- An individual or family member with a diagnosis of more than one type of cancer
- A personal or family history of breast or pancreatic cancer and Jewish ancestry
- A personal or family history of ovarian cancer at any age
- A personal or family history of a rare type of cancer/tumor (for example breast cancer in a male; medullary thyroid cancer; a sebaceous carcinoma or adenoma)
