What to know
Genetic counseling can help you and your family make informed decisions about whether genetic testing for Lynch syndrome is right for you. A genetic counselor or other health care provider with training in cancer genetics can provide genetic counseling.
When genetic counseling is recommended
Your doctor may refer you to genetic counseling if:
- You had colorectal cancer. After surgery to remove colorectal cancer, tumor tissue samples are often screened to see if the tumor could have been caused by Lynch syndrome. Sometimes, more testing is needed to know if the cancer was caused by Lynch syndrome.
- A member of your family has Lynch syndrome. Genetic counseling is recommended to see if testing for the Lynch syndrome genetic change that runs in your family is right for you.
- You have a family history of colorectal cancer. Your doctor may recommend genetic counseling to see if the cancers in your family are caused by Lynch syndrome, especially if your family members were diagnosed with colorectal cancer before age 50. The first person tested in your family should be someone who has had colorectal cancer, if possible.
How genetic counseling can help you
The genetic counselor will collect details about your family's health history. Genetic counseling can answer questions like:
- Do you have a higher risk for colorectal cancer?
- What are the chances you have a genetic change related to Lynch syndrome?
- Could the cancers that run in your family be due to changes in other genes?
- If you have Lynch syndrome or another hereditary cancer syndrome, how likely are you to get cancer?
- How could the results of genetic testing affect you and your family?
- Who in your family should be the first to have genetic testing?
- How accurate is genetic testing?
- What are the possible results of genetic testing and what do they mean?
- What are the risks and limitations of genetic testing?
- How will knowing if you have Lynch syndrome help you lower your cancer risk?
- If you had colorectal or other cancers, how will knowing if you have Lynch syndrome affect your treatment plan? What are the chances that you will get cancer again?
After genetic counseling
After your genetic counseling session, the counselor may recommend you get genetic testing. You may decide you don't want genetic testing or that it is unlikely to help you or your family.
If you decide to have genetic testing, genetic counseling after the test can help you understand your test results.