When we partnered with Ambry to launch our High-Risk Women's Program (HRWP) at HCA Florida Ocala in 2023, I was excited about the potential to improve early cancer detection and even prevention in our mammography patients. The Ambry CARE Program® (CARE) provided the digital tools we needed to assess hereditary and breast cancer risk based on…
As a certified genetic counselor who spent eleven years on the National Comprehensive Cancer Network® (NCCN®)'s committee for the NCCN Clinical Practice Guidelines in Oncology (NCCN Guidelines®) for breast, ovarian, and pancreatic cancers, I've witnessed firsthand the challenges clinicians face in accurately identifying patients who meet criteria…
As the Director of Oncology at HCA Florida Ocala, I've witnessed firsthand how the combination of innovative technology and dedicated healthcare teams can transform patient outcomes. When we launched our high-risk women's program in 2023, I served as project manager, coordinating the implementation of the Ambry CARE Program® (CARE) across our…
We talk about the Ambry CARE Program® (CARE) a lot – how it helps providers identify high-risk patients, offers genetic testing and genetic counseling at scale, and gives patients insights to help them better manage their health. All of that is very powerful, but people also often ask what CARE looks like from the patient’s perspective.…
October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Some of the best defensive strategies against breast cancer are early detection and risk reduction, but high-risk individuals can be missed with some routine screening processes. The Ambry CARE Program® (CARE) helps healthcare providers consistently identify high-risk patients by assessing patients’…
One of the accomplishments I am most proud of is driving the creation of a successful high-risk breast program in a large community-based health system. I am often asked how we did it. For advice on getting started, check out the first blog in this series. If you have already implemented a high-risk breast program, congratulations! It’s time…
Breast cancer remains the number one most common cancer among women in the United States, and the number two leading cause of cancer deaths among women.1 Approximately 20% of all breast cancer cases are associated with a family history of breast cancer, and approximately 10% are hereditary (due to pathogenic variant or mutation in a gene).2,3…
With 25 years of innovation experience, Ambry has been a leading pioneer in genetic testing. But Ambry prioritizes more than performing testing. Since the launch of the Ambry CARE Program® in 2019, Ambry has also consistently helped to improve the delivery of genetic services. Why CARE? We know significant gaps exist between medical guidelines…
How would you respond if a patient asked, "What is my risk of getting breast cancer"? We may initially reference the national average: 1 in 8 (or about 13% of) people assigned female at birth (AFAB) develop breast cancer.1 However, we live in an age of personalized medicine; this statistic cannot be applied universally to every patient. Further,…
Every individual's genetic makeup is unique, containing the blueprint for their health, including susceptibility to diseases and potential response to treatments. But understanding your genes is like deciphering a complex code. DNA varies slightly from person to person, and interpreting the medical significance of those differences, or variants,…