KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Genetic testing is more accessible than ever before, and knowing your own personal risk for breast cancer can save your life.
Self-checks, mammograms and scans are often how women find out they have breast cancer. However, with the accessibility and affordability of genetic testing, there's another layer to finding out your risk before a diagnosis.
"You have the ability to do something to proactively take charge of your health and hopefully prevent cancer," said Lyn McConnell, an account executive with Myriad Women's Health.
McConnell says the goal of the genetics company is to get knowledge into the hands of women, so they know what their risks are.
"[That way,] they can get personalized care," McConnell said. "Ideally, we want to prevent them from getting cancer."
The simple blood test gives patients a window into their cancer risk before a diagnosis has a chance to creep in.
Now, as genetic testing has been around for a good amount of time, doctors and providers are seeing the cost drop for people who need special testing.
"Things have come a long way with regard to genetic testing," McConnell said. "Part of it is because the additional skills we've learned in how the genetic testing has been done has made it more affordable. We can do more testing for less cost."
You usually only hear about the BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes as a clue someone might have breast cancer one day, but there are ten other genes known to be linked to the disease.
Before testing, McConnell recommends looking for certain red flags in your family history.
"If you kind of were to generalize them, you look for things that are multiple, young and rare," McConnell said.
Some examples are multiple people in your family having cancer, someone in your family being diagnosed at an early age and a relative having ovarian cancer. There are many more red flags and warning signs listed in this Myriad document.
Getting the test results can help empower people to make the proper treatment decisions and give insurance a reason to pay for it. Because of information from genetic testing, insurance can also pay for things like mammograms before 40 years old for women, and certain breast MRIs and surgeries.
"We have 90% to 95% of patients that are being tested have zero out-of-pocket cost," McConnell said.
Myriad also offers an "Out of Pocket" payment program for people who may not know their family history, like people who are adopted. It's a flat rate they pay with no hidden payment surprises, according to McConnell.
McConnell says there are genetic counselors and people with Myriad ready to help walk people through their results and options for preventing a diagnosis.
Knowledge is power when it comes to cancer, and taking the steps to stop it.
If you would like to do a Myriad Genetic test, you can ask your doctor to order the test online. You do not have to be seeing an oncologist to get the test done.
You can learn more at myriad.com.