Genetic counseling is the communication process between the professionals behind the genetics and their patients. This form of counseling comes with a goal of giving people and families with details on the associated elements of their genetic health, management options, support and available testing as they go toward understanding & integrating these details into their everyday lives.
6 Steps To Genetic Counseling
Genetic counseling is typically done by steps which involve the following:
1. Family & medical history evaluation
2. Analysis of the genetic information which include the family history and genetic examination results
3. Communication of the genetic risk details
4. Education regarding inheritance, management, genetic testing, risk reduction, research opportunities and resources
5. Supportive counsel to facilitate informed decisions as well as the adaptation to the condition and risk
6. Follow up. This may involve a written review, provision of referrals and succeeding genetic counseling meetings.
Genetic counseling also comes with pros and cons. The pros and cons of genetic counseling are as follows:
The Top 5 Pros of Genetic Counseling
Genetic counseling can benefit you in several ways. Its benefits are:
1. Increased knowledge
Genetic testing can provide more significant information regarding the risks for acquiring cancer. It can also offer an insight on the reason why a person or family suffers from cancer.
2. Health care options
The information concerning risk could facilitate decisions if some screening exams must be considered and if they will be helpful for individuals in deciding about the risk-reducing surgery. Additionally, those persons who have inherited the vulnerability to cancer will be able to join in the clinical trials.
3. Details for relatives
Testing may give details about the cancer risk for kids, siblings and other members of the family.
4. Emotional advantages
Learning the outcomes of testing may lead to a sense of mental relief as ambiguity regarding cancer risk can be minimized.
5. Contribution to study
Participation in genetic counseling & testing programs would help you to understand more the nature of inherited cancer.
The Top 3 Cons of Genetic Counseling
However, it can also cause problems like:
1. Problems in the test result interpretation
It could be possible that the results of genetic testing would be uninformative and hard to interpret. It is very important to bear in mind that even the comprehensive genes analysis cannot detect each probable mutation. Even the results are positive, it doesn’t give a definitive response concerning the risk of a certain individual for acquiring cancer whether for the first or second time.
2. Emotional implications
A person might be sad, anxious or angry if his o her results are not good especially if there are alterations made on it. An individual who has been diagnosed with cancer and prefers to undergo genetic testing may experience more intense feelings. It is very important to think about the probable effect of genetic testing among children and other relatives as the relationships might become strained & the individuals may experience guilt about the result or even the possible outcome of the testing.
3. Discrimination
Some people are worried that inherent testing may lead them to discrimination by life, health, disability insurers and employers. On the other hand, latest enacted national legislation and state rules provide protection particularly when it comes to employment and health insurance.
How Do You Feel About Genetic Counseling?
Genetic counseling is now offered in most websites today. Most people are considering it value and the benefits that it can give but how about the negative effects of it? How do you feel about this?
