#49 - Understanding the Complexities of Genetic Testing. An Interview with Genetics Counselor, Fatima Amir, M.S., LGC.

Love the podcast? Send us a text!Understanding the Complexities of Genetic Testing. An Interview with Genetics Counselor, Fatima Amir, M.S., LGC.Summary: The SBC team discusses the implications of genetic testing with Genetic Counselor Fatima Amir. The team and Fatima discuss the BRCA 1 and 2 genes, the statistics of breast cancer, and the various types of genetic testing. In addition, Fatima highlights the importance of strong communication with one’s family and how family history may or may not be indicative of a future cancer diagnosis. Lastly, Fatima illustrates the importance of broadening the demographic of genetic testing.Topics:6:21 Introduction to genetics9:54 Statistics of breast cancer10:35 BRCA 1 and 215:39 Lifetime risk26:22 Additional testing37:37 Relevance of family communication and family history43:17 The future of genetics 45:17 Bringing genetic testing to new demographics1:02:23 Discussing genetic testing with patientsResources:None mentioned.Quotes: Fatima 39:00 “Family communication thing is a big thing that can come up. And so sometimes what I'll I'll offer to do for patients is write a family letter, kind of a generic letter that I can type up that so they don't have to worry about having to have all the details or anything like that there. But I can write a generic kind of letter and then send it to our patient and then they can kind of forward it and edit it as they please to customize it, send it to their relatives, so they don't have to worry about having that conversation or anything like that.” Fatima 60:15 “I like to remind people don't blame yourself for having done something, if I just did this differently if I just did this differently. There's also a big percentage of cancer that happens because just nature isn't perfect. And ourselves. Exactly. Are. You think about, you know, when we talked about all that DNA in our, in each of our cells, there's billions and billions of letters and each of our cells and every time a cell is replicating, it has to copy all of those letters each time. So think about a Xerox machine. And if that's copying again, and again, it's bound to make an error at some point.”Socials:Say Hi on Social:YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/SURVIVINGBREASTCANCERFacebook:https://www.facebook.com/SurvivingbreastcancerorgPinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/BreastCancerConversations/Twitter: https://twitter.com/SBC_org Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/survivingbreastcancerorg/______________________Subscribe to our newsletter https://www.survivingbreastcancer.org/subscribe-1Donate to our cause https://tinyurl.com/yc9cgt4eAttend an event https://www.survivingbreastcancer.org/eventsSupport the showListener FeedbackIf this episode resonated with you, we invite you to leave a review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.You can also click the link in the show notes that says "Love this episode? Send us a text" to share feedback.Messages are completely anonymous.If you would like us to follow up directly, please include your email address in your message so we can respond.Latest News: Join our Mailing List - New content drops every Monday! Discover FREE programs, support groups, and resources from SurvivingBReastCancer.org! Become a Breast Cancer Conversations+ Member! Sign Up Now. Enjoying our content? Please consider supporting our work.