- By Liese Vito, MD
- Posted February 7, 2024
CARE Patient Examples at Lake Health
Many patients are anxious about their family history—more than providers realize. In some cases, they may feel like a ticking time bomb with no options. In Part One of this blog series, I talked about The Ambry CARE ProgramTM and how Lake Health has been able to use it to identify more high-risk patients, increase family history and cancer risk…
- By Liese Vito, MD
- Posted January 24, 2024
Hereditary Cancer Testing with CARE
According to studies, 93% of high-risk women who qualify for breast MRI have not had one.1 97% of women at risk for hereditary breast/ovarian cancer have not had genetic testing.2 These healthcare gaps mean high-risk patients are being missed when it comes to proactive and preventative care. As a practicing OB-GYN for twenty years, I have seen…
- By Kristina O'Quinn
- Posted October 25, 2023
Off My Chest: How Negative Genetic Testing and a Supportive Community Helped Me Navigate Breast Cancer
In the fall of 2021, my eighteen-year-old child was making an appointment for an annual check-up, then handed me the phone and said, “Mom, don’t you need a check-up? Didn’t you miss your appointment last year because of COVID?” I had, in fact, missed my annual check-up and mammogram. A few days later, after the check-up and mammogram, I…
- By Jessica Grzybowski, MS, CGC
- Posted October 17, 2023
Understanding Gene-Disease Validity in Breast Cancer: The Power of Evidence
When it comes to understanding the genetic basis of diseases, evidence plays a crucial role. Gene-disease validity measures the strength of evidence associating pathogenic variants or changes in a gene to a genetic disease or syndrome. In the context of breast cancer, which affects approximately 1 in every 8 women, grasping gene-disease validity…
- By Meagan Farmer
- Posted August 9, 2023
Her Healthcare: Leveraging the CARE Program to Scale High-Risk Patient Identification
We recently met with Texas OB/GYN, Dr. Noel Boyd. We learned about her passion for caring for the whole patient and helping to identify those at increased risk for cancer so that they can make proactive choices to address their risk. Dr. Boyd’s practice implemented The CARE ProgramTM, which stands for “Comprehensive Assessment of Risk and…
- By Meagan Farmer
- Posted August 2, 2023
Her Healthcare: Offering Comprehensive Care with Hereditary Cancer Testing
Dr. Noel Boyd is an OB/GYN who has been in private practice in a suburb of Houston, TX, for 21 years. The patients seen in her practice, Her Healthcare, range in age from 9 to 99, and she cares for them through everything from routine exams to high-risk pregnancy, from contraception counseling to cancer screening. “I really love taking care…
- By Jodi Tahsler
- Posted June 13, 2023
Outlier: Runi Limary Let Her Voice Be Heard on BRCA Gene Patents
When it comes to breast cancer, Runi Limary has more personal experience than average. She not only spent time working at a nonprofit for people with breast cancer, but she was diagnosed herself at the young age of twenty-eight. When ACLU lawyers reached out to her about the court case regarding BRCA1 and BRCA2 patents to see…
- By Catherine Schultz, MS, CGC
- Posted March 23, 2023
Ambry Genetics Diagnostic Dilemma: +RNAinsight® Reveals Lynch Syndrome in Sisters
In recognition of Colon Cancer Awareness Month, Ambry would like to share the story of Jane and Julie Smith (not their real names) – sisters and cancer survivors. Jane was diagnosed with colon cancer in 2004 at the age of 36. While she was concerned about her diagnosis and family history of ovarian cancer, genetic testing was not widely available…
- By Jodi Tahsler
- Posted March 8, 2023
International Women’s Day: Spotlighting Cathrine Keller, MD, A Woman of Substance
Being a “woman of substance” requires a passion for benefitting the greater good. Dr. Cathrine Keller has it in abundance. “We believe the greater good is to put our patients’ health and safety at the epicenter of every decision we make.” A woman of substance seldom has a neutral position. As a leader in the fight against breast cancer,…
- By Jaime Burguieres
- Posted September 29, 2022
An Attitude of Gratitude: Jaime Burguieres’ Previvor Cancer Journey Guided by Ambry Genetic Testing
When Jaime Burguieres was young, her 43-year-old maternal aunt was diagnosed with breast cancer. Burguieres watched her vivacious aunt go through painful radiation and chemotherapy treatments that seemingly eradicated her cancer at the time. A few years later, her aunt was diagnosed with Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma in the breast, stomach, and hip,…