At-home DNA tests are popular, but some direct-to-consumer genetic testing companies have cut their workforce following a slowdown in sales. Is the tide changing? If so, why?
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Genetic testing for ancestry is more accessible and affordable than ever, and every day it is helping people crack the code on their family histories. These ancestry tests originally gained popularity as people wanted to learn more about where they came from, who their relatives were and what cultures they were tied to.
At-home DNA tests are a popular gift, especially during the holidays. Did you receive one - by surprise or because it was on your wish list - and now you are wondering how to take advantage of it? This episode discusses how to make the most of your DNA test holiday gift.
This Breast Cancer Awareness Month, NSGC and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) want to help individuals learn the steps they can take to understand their risk for health conditions, including breast and ovarian cancer. In a new episode of NSGC’s Genetic Counselors and You consumer podcast series, NSGC Cancer Expert Joy Larsen Haidle and family physician, Sarah Coles, MD, discuss how genetic testing and counseling is part of understanding genetic risk. Larsen Haidle is a genetic counselor at North Memorial Health Cancer Center in Robbinsdale, Minn. and Coles is a family physician from Phoenix, Ariz.
October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, and the National Society of Genetic Counselors and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention want to help women learn the steps they can take – like genetic testing and genetic counseling – to understand their risk for breast and ovarian cancer.
When it comes to genetics and what we can learn from it, the progress we’ve made can make your head spin. I became interested in a genetic counseling career in the late ‘90s, which feels like ancient history. Back then, I’d speak to families about the possibility of a genetic condition, but there likely wasn’t a genetic test available to tell us more. If we confirmed a diagnosis, there usually weren’t many treatments to help. We’ve come a long way.
February is American Heart Month, so it's a great time to take heredity to heart and learn why genetics is important in heart disease. Cardiovascular genetic counselors specialize in providing risk assessment and, when heredity is indicated, genetic testing for heart disease. Since cardiovascular disease, including heart disease and stroke, is the leading killer of American men and women, knowing whether you may have an increased genetic risk is very important.
While many people know that genetic counselors work with families concerned about conditions caused entirely by genes, people are often less familiar with the idea that we also work with families affected by health conditions caused by a combination of genes and our experiences. Psychiatric disorders such as schizophrenia, depression, anxiety and bipolar disorder are a few examples.
What is a diagnosis worth? For my family, learning that our daughter, Amy, has the ultra-rare disorder xeroderma pigmentosum/ trichothiodystrophy (XP/TTD) complex after two decades of searching, the value is incalculable. For an insurance company, there is a definite amount — and in 2015 that amount was $9,500.
Her voice was sweet, but the words hurt. There was nothing she could do to take the pain away or ease the sting. After four consecutive miscarriages, this pregnancy entered the second trimester, so we felt hopeful — but the celebration was short-lived. Our doctor found anomalies during the ultrasound. Visions of pink or blue became gray. We quickly learned what an enlarged nuchal fold meant — darker gray — and then chronic villus sampling (CVS) — darker gray.