Overview
- Do you have questions about your family history?
- Was someone in your family born with a birth defect or had a genetic disorder?
- Have more than one member of your family had cancer?
If so, you might benefit from meeting with a genetic counselor. Sanford Women’s is proud to be home to the first clinic in South Dakota to offer genetic counseling from board certified genetic counselors.
Genetic abnormalities or predisposition to genetic disease can be frightening and confusing. A genetic counselor is trained to clearly translate that information and to be an emotional resource to you and your family.
Treatments
The board certified genetic counselors at Sanford Clinic Women’s Health can provide you with an in-depth discussion about the occurrence or risk for a genetic disorder. The goal of genetic counseling is to help you understand the details of a genetic disorder, risks to family members, risks for recurrence, available testing and management.
Additionally, a genetic counselor provides information about genetic testing and management choices in the context of your view of the risks and your ethical and religious beliefs.
People in the following situations often find a visit with a genetic counselor helpful:
- individuals with personal or family histories of colon cancer, breast cancer, ovarian cancer or melanoma skin cancer
- couples whose infant has a genetic disease
- couples with multiple miscarriages
- couples experiencing infertility
- individuals who have an inherited disorder or birth defect or who have a hereditary disorder in their family
- women who are pregnant, or planning to become pregnant, after the age of 35
- women whose ultrasound, prenatal screening or blood testing indicate an increased risk for complications or birth defects
- couples who have a child with a chromosome disorder, inherited disorder or birth defect
- people concerned their jobs, lifestyles or medical history may pose a risk to outcome of a pregnancy (i.e. exposure to radiation, medications, illegal drugs, chemicals or infections)
- couples who would like testing or more information about diseases that occur frequently in their ethnic group; such as Tay- Sachs, sickle cell, thalassemia or cystic fibrosis
- couples who are first cousins or other close blood relatives
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