Focused guide collection
Hereditary Cancer and Genetic Testing
Genetic results can affect both the patient and relatives. These guides help distinguish tumor findings from inherited findings and prepare for conversations with a qualified genetics professional.
Guides in this collection
Only pages cleared for public discovery appear here. Safety-sensitive drafts stay out until qualified review.
Understanding Report Language
Variant of Uncertain Significance (VUS)
Practical, source-based guidance on variant of uncertain significance (vus), including planning steps, questions, safety limits, and care-team support.
7 min read · Beginner
Costs & Practical Help
Cascade Genetic Testing for Relatives
Practical, source-based guidance on cascade genetic testing for relatives, including planning steps, questions, safety limits, and care-team support.
8 min read · Beginner
Costs & Practical Help
Telling Relatives About an Inherited Cancer Finding
Guidance on telling relatives about an inherited cancer finding: planning steps, questions, safety limits, and care-team support.
8 min read · Beginner
Cancer Types
Familial Adenomatous Polyposis (FAP)
Practical, source-based guidance on familial adenomatous polyposis (fap), including planning steps, questions, safety limits, and care-team support.
8 min read · Beginner
Costs & Practical Help
Genetic Testing in Difficult Family Relationships
Guidance on genetic testing in difficult family relationships: planning steps, questions, safety limits, and care-team support.
9 min read · Beginner
Diagnosis & Staging
Genetic Testing vs. Genomic Testing
Inherited genetic testing and tumor genomic or biomarker testing answer different cancer questions. Learn the difference.
3 min read · Beginner
Costs & Practical Help
Genetic Testing: Privacy, Insurance, and Work
Practical, source-based guidance on genetic testing privacy, insurance, and work, including planning steps, questions, safety limits, and care-team support.
7 min read · Beginner
Cancer Types
Hereditary Diffuse Gastric Cancer
Practical, source-based guidance on hereditary diffuse gastric cancer, including planning steps, questions, safety limits, and care-team support.
6 min read · Beginner
Cancer Types
Li-Fraumeni Syndrome Explained
Practical, source-based guidance on li-fraumeni syndrome explained, including planning steps, questions, safety limits, and care-team support.
8 min read · Beginner
Cancer Types
Multiple Endocrine Neoplasia (MEN)
MEN1, MEN2A, MEN2B and MEN4 explained: which glands each affects, the MEN1 and RET genes, risk-reducing thyroid surgery, and lifelong surveillance.
8 min read · Beginner
Diagnosis & Staging
Tumor Testing vs. Inherited Genetic Testing
Practical, source-based guidance on tumor testing vs. inherited genetic testing, including planning steps, questions, safety limits, and care-team support.
5 min read · Beginner
Understanding Report Language
What Does a TP53 Mutation Mean?
TP53 makes the protein nicknamed guardian of the genome. It is the most commonly mutated gene in human cancer, and the key question is acquired or inherited.
5 min read · Beginner
Understanding Report Language
What Does PTEN Loss Mean?
PTEN is a tumor suppressor gene. Loss may mean missing protein or a changed gene, and tumor-only versus inherited is the key question.
5 min read · Beginner
Cancer Types
Brain Tumor Risk Factors: What Is and Is Not Known
What is and is not known about brain tumor risk factors, including inherited syndromes. Based on the NCI.
3 min read · Beginner
Prevention & Risk
BRCA Gene Changes and Cancer Risk
A plain-language explainer on inherited BRCA1 and BRCA2 gene changes, the cancers they raise risk for, and options for people at high risk
6 min read · Beginner
Prevention & Risk
BRCA1 and BRCA2 Mutations Explained
What the BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes do, how an inherited harmful change raises the risk of breast, ovarian, and other cancers
5 min read · Beginner
Cancer Basics
Does Cancer Run in Families?
A plain-language look at when cancer is inherited, what a family history means, and when genetic counseling may help. Based on the National Cancer Institute.
3 min read · Beginner
Prevention & Risk
Family History and Cancer Risk
How family history can raise cancer risk, the red flags that suggest an inherited pattern, and when to seek genetic counseling
5 min read · Beginner
Prevention & Risk
Family History and Genetic Testing for Cancer: When to Test
Inherited gene mutations (such as BRCA1/2 or Lynch syndrome) account for 5–10% of all cancers. Genetic counseling helps determine who should undergo testing.
7 min read · Beginner
Prevention & Risk
Fear of Passing an Inherited Cancer Variant to Children
Autosomal dominant inheritance means a 50% chance per child. What that does and does not mean, plus reproductive options including PGT-M.
5 min read · Beginner
Prevention & Risk
Genetic Counseling for Unaffected Family Members
Genetic counseling when you have not had cancer: cascade testing, testing an affected relative first, GINA's insurance gap, and reading a negative result.
6 min read · Beginner
Prevention & Risk
Genetic Counseling: What to Expect
A plain-language guide to genetic counseling for inherited cancer risk
5 min read · Beginner
Diagnosis & Staging
Genetic Testing After a Cancer Diagnosis
Germline vs tumor testing after a cancer diagnosis, who is eligible, what results change, and the GINA gap on life and disability insurance.
6 min read · Beginner
Prevention & Risk
Genetic Testing for Inherited Cancer Risk
A plain-language explainer on genetic testing for inherited cancer risk — what it looks for, who might consider it, and what results mean
6 min read · Beginner
Prevention & Risk
Genetic Testing Results: Positive, Negative, VUS
Genetic testing for inherited cancer risk can come back positive, negative, or as a variant of uncertain significance.
5 min read · Beginner
Prevention & Risk
Hereditary Cancer Syndromes: An Overview
A hereditary cancer syndrome is an inherited condition that raises the risk of certain cancers.
5 min read · Beginner
Prevention & Risk
Inherited vs. Acquired Gene Changes in Cancer
Cancer is caused by gene changes, but they come in two kinds: inherited changes you are born with, and acquired changes that happen during life.
5 min read · Beginner
Prevention & Risk
Lynch Syndrome Explained: DNA Repair and Cancer Risk
Lynch syndrome is an inherited condition that raises the risk of colorectal, endometrial, and some other cancers, often at younger ages.
5 min read · Beginner
Prevention & Risk
Lynch Syndrome: Inherited Colorectal and Other Cancer Risk
A plain-language explainer on Lynch syndrome, an inherited condition that raises the risk of colorectal, endometrial, and some other cancers
5 min read · Beginner
Cancer Types
Ovarian Cancer Risk Factors
A plain-language explanation of what raises the risk of ovarian cancer, including family history and inherited genes. Based on the National Cancer Institute.
4 min read · Beginner
Prevention & Risk
Overcoming Guilt About an Inherited Cancer Variant
Guilt after a positive genetic test is common and expected. Nobody chooses their genome, and this looks at what actually helps the feeling.
5 min read · Beginner
Prevention & Risk
Reducing the Risk of a Second Cancer After Treatment
Second cancers come from treatment, shared risk factors, and inherited susceptibility. What raises risk, what lowers it, and what your survivorship plan covers.
6 min read · Beginner
Prevention & Risk
Risk-Reducing Mastectomy for BRCA Mutation Carriers
Risk-reducing mastectomy for an inherited variant: the real risk-reduction figures, the surveillance alternative, and why this is a personal decision.
6 min read · Beginner
Prevention & Risk
Risk-Reducing Surgery for Inherited Cancer Variants
Risk-reducing mastectomy and salpingo-oophorectomy: how much risk they remove, what they cost you, and the alternatives worth weighing first.
5 min read · Beginner
Diagnosis & Staging
Tumor DNA Testing vs. Inherited (Germline) Testing
Two very different tests both get called genetic. Tumor DNA testing looks at changes in a cancer to guide treatment
5 min read · Beginner
Prevention & Risk
What a Genetic Counselor Does
A genetic counselor helps people understand inherited cancer risk, decide whether genetic testing makes sense, and make sense of results.
5 min read · Beginner