AAMC Genetics Counseling Program Helps Patients Better Understand Their Cancer Risk
In 2008, President George W. Bush signed into law the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act of 2008, which had passed the Senate unanimously and the House of Representatives by a vote of 414 to 1. While many individual states had laws in place protecting citizens against genetic discrimination, the new Federal law establishes a baseline level of protection for Americans in every state.
The act, according to the National Human Genome Research Institute, “protects Americans against discrimination based on their genetic information when it comes to health insurance and employment. The measure will pave the way for people to take full advantage of the promise of personalized medicine without fear of discrimination.”
Anne Arundel Medical Center (AAMC) offers genetics counseling as a cancer prevention component of the DeCesaris Cancer Institute, and since the program’s inception in 2007, the program has helped hundreds of patients better understand their risk of developing certain types of cancers. With an understanding of risk, patients are better able to schedule screening regimens that can help them detect disease earlier.
Last month, AAMC genetic counselor Aimee P. Martin, M.G.C., C.G.C., CG(ASCP), sat down with the AAMC Health Connection Podcast to talk about the field of genetics counseling, the invaluable insight the field can provide patients, and what a typical genetics consultation entails.
Click here to listen to the podcast, or here to view the AAMC Health Connection Podcast library.
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