NEW YORK (GenomeWeb) – The Breast Center at Carondelet St. Mary's Hospital in Tucson, Ariz. today announced a collaboration with InformedDNA to identify patients at higher risk for breast cancer.
As part of the collaboration, InformedDNA will provide hereditary risk assessment and genetic counseling to the breast center's patients to help them make informed decisions about medical care. The assessments will be performed before a patient is diagnosed with the disease, improving the chances that disease can be caught early and treated successfully. The center added it is offering risk assessment to all patients who receive a screening mammogram and will not charge extra to the patient.
"Most breast programs only will offer genetic risk screening after a woman is diagnosed with breast cancer," Gerlinde Tynan, a breast surgeon and medical director of the breast center, said in a statement. "We want to identify patients who may be at higher risk before they develop cancer. Knowing the risk empowers patients to take steps that may help them avoid cancer altogether."