You may qualify for Genetic Testing.
Based on your answers, you may be at increased cancer risk and qualify for genetic testing.
Genetic Basics
What are genes?
Genes are the road map to our bodies. We have close to 25,000 genes each. They are small pieces of DNA that provide instructions to our bodies about how to build the proteins that keep us alive and functioning. We inherit two copies of every gene from our biological parents at birth — one from mom & one from dad.
What is a genetic mutation?
Mutations are permanent alterations in a specific gene that can affect its functioning. Some mutations are harmless and some can pre-dispose us to diseases like cancer. There are two types of mutations: inherited and acquired.
Inherited mutations come from the gene you received from a parent at birth. Inherited mutations are present in all of your cells from the very beginning of your life. Inheriting a mutation linked known cancers puts you at much higher risk for developing that cancer in the future. This is why knowing your family history is so important.
Acquired mutations can develop during your lifetime due to an environmental exposure (like sun, for example) and may impact your risk of disease. Acquired mutations cannot be passed down to your children.
Next Steps
What Are Your Choices?
Test Your Risk
To pursue genetic testing on your own, the lab’s independent network of physicians and genetic counselors will order the test on your behalf. You can still keep your own provider in the loop. Typically you can’t pay with insurance.
Below are some other providers of high quality cancer risk tests. For these, you will need your doctor’s help to order.
This is not a comprehensive list and Any Mountain does not endorse or have a relationship with any genetic testing provider.
Talk to a Genetic Counselor
If you don’t know where to begin, a genetic counselor can help you. Ask your provider for a local genetic counselor reference.
Talk to an Informed Provider
Go see your own trusted health care provider to get started with genetic testing.
Know Your Genes
Genes are bits of DNA we inherit from our biological parents that give our cells instructions about how to function. Genes determine things we can see, like eye color, and things we cannot see, like cancer risk.
For more information about genes and how they work, visit the U.S. National Library of Medicine.
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More to Know
Basic Female Anatomy
Ovarian Cancer Basics
Uterine/Endometrial Cancer Basics
Prostate Cancer Basics
Pancreatic Cancer Basics
Colon Cancer Basics
